Javier Millay completes one year in the presidency of Argentina. What has the ultra-liberal and controversial politician achieved so far? An account. Javier Millay, a politician who became known worldwide for his unkempt haircut and chainsaw figure, completes one year in the presidency of Argentina. To this day his main motto is one: “No hay plata” (There is no money). The whole program of reforms and saving money implemented by Millay in Argentina has been based on this very motto, having aroused the interest of Europe as well. The head of the FDP himself, Christian Lindner, states that Germany needs more policies à la Millais.

But what has Argentina’s ultra-liberal president really accomplished in his first twelve months in office?

Inflation subsides, poverty increases

Inflation has eased significantly, falling from 20% a month before Millay took office to 2.7% a month. The government stopped financing the state budget by printing money.

The positive development of the reduction in inflation, however, is also due to the fact that the country’s economy is collapsing: many people simply do not have money anymore and therefore consume less. That is why Argentina is in a serious recession – the World Bank estimates that the country’s economic performance will decrease this year by 3.5%.

On the other hand, of course, Miley managed to present a balanced budget for the first time in years.

Miley halted several welfare programs, cut government support for social programs such as social security benefits, and increased pensions at a smaller rate than the rise in inflation. After several subsidies were removed the costs for electricity, water and natural gas skyrocketed. Today the percentage of citizens living below the poverty line in Argentina has increased by 10 percentage points, now reaching 52.9%. In fact, 18.1% live in conditions of extreme poverty – that is, they are not able to cover even their basic needs.

The self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Millay perceives the state as a fundamental evil, which he wants, as he says, “to destroy from within.” As soon as he took office, he abolished several ministries, fired tens of thousands of civil servants and “froze” almost all public projects. In addition, he wants to privatize many of the state-owned enterprises – but has not yet taken any relevant actions.

“Dollarization” and attracting investment

One of Miley’s most important campaign promises was to abolish the Argentine peso as a means of payment and replace it with the US dollar. However, the issue is no longer discussed in the public debate. Economists also initially considered the project unrealistic, as Argentina would not be able to raise enough dollars for such a change.

After decades of a more interventionist economic policy, Millay wants to make the country much more liberal, with the aim of attracting investment. Thus, the Argentine president introduced a support package, which provides for tax breaks for large investments of more than 200 million dollars. At the same time, however, there are still several restrictions on foreign trade. Imports are subject to high tariffs, and there are strict regulations regarding foreign exchange transactions.

The pragmatist speaks

Millay’s foreign policy also follows an extreme liberal to right-wing populist tenet. Instead of seeking to improve relations with important neighboring countries and trading partners, such as Brazil, Miley visited with future US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, appeared at right-wing forums, openly spoke out against the woke culture and the socialism and caused a diplomatic uproar by insulting the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

At the same time, however, he is also quite pragmatic, contributing to the achievement of the much-desired agreement between the EU and the Mercosur states on a free trade zone.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas