1 of 1 Javier Milei during the inauguration ceremony on December 10, 2023 Photo: Portal/Agustin Marcarian Javier Milei during the inauguration ceremony on December 10, 2023 Photo: Portal/Agustin Marcarian
Javier Milei ends this Sunday (17) a week as Argentine president with measures that are controversial or undermine the image built in the presidential campaign.
As secretary general, Karina will help the president with public policy, preparing communiqués, participating in ceremonial and protocol tasks, and managing relations with the public, according to the Argentine press.
“It is time to put an end to this methodology [de protestos] that it only leads to complete disorder and noncompliance with the law and, moreover, does not protect those who need to lead normal and peaceful lives,” Bullrich explained.
The text also stipulates, among other things, that those responsible for the protests bear the costs arising from the police operation, the compilation of a list of the establishments that carry out the most blockades and the veto against the participation of minors in these acts.
Argentina: What strategy is Milei pursuing in the economy?
According to a survey by the consulting firm Diagnosis Político published by the newspaper “Clarín”, there were 568 pickets nationwide in November 2023 alone. The record was registered in August this year: 882 closures.
“We think it’s illegal [o anúncio de Bullrich]. In Argentina there is a right to demonstrate that is enshrined in the constitution. If the minister wants to override the existing constitutional guarantees, there is only one way: order [um pedido] to Congress to declare a state of siege,” said Gabriel Solano, leader of the Polo Obrero social movement.
Polo Obrero actually planned the law's first effective test for the 20th: a nationwide strike to protest Milei's economic measures. In an interview with Argentine radio this Saturday (16), Patricia Bullrich said that the law is being respected.
During the election campaign, Javier Milei repeated the slogan “el que corte no cobra” (“Whoever cuts, does not receive”, in Portuguese) to say that those who block the roads do not receive social benefits Bullrich returned this Saturday to threaten that cut. The catchphrase contradicts the motto “viva la libertad, carajo” (“Long live damned freedom”), which the politician also used before his election.
Guga Chacra: Milei follows an orthodox economic policy of cutting spending
On Tuesday (12), Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the adjustment plan, the most anticipated measure of the new government. The package includes conditions such as the devaluation of the peso, the elimination of subsidies and the cancellation of tenders.
The adjustment was dubbed the “chainsaw plan” in the press, in reference to the chainsaw that Milei displayed in the presidential campaign and which symbolized what the candidate wanted to achieve with public spending at the time—savagely cutting it. There is still no talk of dollarizing the economy, one of Milei's campaign promises.
“We are in the worst phase of our history,” said the minister, who said Argentina spends much more than it earns the budget deficit. “If we continue as before, we will have hyperinflation.” The idea is to “neutralize the crisis,” he says.
All measures will come into force at the turn of the year.
- Devaluation of the peso: 1 US dollar is worth 800 pesos; Today each dollar is worth 365 pesos. These include a temporary increase in the import tax (“Pais” levied on dollar purchases) and withholding taxes on nonagricultural exports.
- Tenders: Suspend tenders for new public works and cancel tenders that have not yet begun.
- Reducing energy and transportation subsidies: In practice, electricity and gas bills will increase, as will train and bus fares throughout the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.
- Reduce transfers to the provinces to a minimum.
- Suspension of government advertising for one year.
- Public bodies: Do not renew employment contracts that are less than one year old.
- Reduction in government structure: reduction in the number of secretariats from 106 to 54 and ministries from 18 to nine.
- Social: Prioritize social projects that do not require intermediaries and strengthen programs like the one that supports mothers with children.
- Replace the import system with a system that does not require prior license information.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised the measures, calling them “courageous.” “These bold first measures aim to significantly improve public finances to protect the most vulnerable in society and strengthen the exchange rate system,” the agency said in a statement.