New President Asks Argentines to Expect Shock Treatment
Argentina’s new Far-Right President has vowed to deliver economic shock treatment in his first speech after formally taking office.
Javier Milei warned Argentines there is no money and recommitted to a program of harsh austerity measures.
The populist outsider won a surprise election victory in November with radical pledges to overhaul the South American nation’s ailing economy.
Mr. Milei’s inauguration was held in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
In a day of pomp and ceremony, the 53-year-old capped his extraordinary rise to power with a speech that left Argentines in no doubt he intends to embark on an economic path unlike any previous president.
Read Also:
He said he would undo decades of decadence with deep spending cuts, designed to slash huge public debts and drive down inflation, which is now higher than 140%.
The nation has a yawning fiscal deficit, a trade deficit of $43 billion, plus a daunting $45 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund, with $10.6 billion due to the multilateral and private creditors by April.
There’s no money, is Milei’s common refrain. He repeated it Sunday to explain why a gradualist approach to the situation, which would require financing, was not an option.
But he promised the adjustment would almost entirely affect the state rather than the private sector, and that it represented the first step toward regaining prosperity.
We know that in the short term, the situation will worsen, but soon we will see the fruits of our effort, having created the base for solid and sustainable growth, he said.
