The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, used an interview on Wednesday night (14) to reiterate that he maintains his plan to dollarize the country's economy, although several tasks need to be carried out first, in addition to responding to criticism from the former president Cristina Kirchner, who called him an “economist showman”.
“Maybe the new times require a show”, said the libertarian in an interview with LN+the newspaper's multimedia group La Nation, in which he highlighted that, despite the setback suffered in Congress by the so-called “Omnibus Law” to reduce the role of the State, he remains firm in his plans. “The tabula rasa remains firm: all those who want to join are welcome,” he stressed.
Speaking about the dollarization of the economy, a formula that Peronist Carlos Menem already experimented with during his two presidential terms (1989-1999) with the aim of stopping inflation, Milei highlighted that “the idea is there, but it takes time”.
“We issue money to buy dollars, in fact we bought US$7 billion (R$34.7 billion). Today we have a monetary base of around US$8 billion (R$39.7 billion) and we buy reserves for 7 (billion). Today we have 87.5% of the base covered. At the market exchange rate, we are one shot away from dollarization,” he said.
“The rest of the paid liabilities still need to be settled and the other thing that is needed is a reform of the financial system so that it is not vulnerable to a stampede,” he added.
Regarding inflation of 20.6% in January, according to official data, the Argentine president said that “it seems like a horrible number”, but that “we have to look at where we were, what the trend is and the inheritance we received”.
“January is a seasonally complicated month. It was 20. It fell five points compared to the previous month. It goes to levels of 15 and continues to decrease”, he indicated.
At another point in the interview, Milei attacked the legislators who opposed the approval of his general law and especially those close to his movement, the right-wing Freedom Advances, who joined the “traitors” who voted against it.
“Politicians don’t want to give up their privileges. It's good for people to know who voted for and who voted against. Let people know who the criminals are,” she commented.
Before this interview, the former president of Argentina Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015) published a 33-page document in which she harshly criticized the government of Javier Milei, whom she called the “economist showman of the Casa Rosada”.
In this regard, Milei replied: “It's her opinion. Maybe the new times require a show. That doesn’t bother me,” said the current president, before insisting that he has no doubts about proposing new initiatives to “put an end to all the black boxes in politics.”
Finally, Milei also spoke about her recent meeting with Pope Francis, which she described as “wonderful” and whom she acknowledged having apologized for her “past statements”. (With EFE Agency)
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