The National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) released, this Tuesday (12), inflation for February (13.2%). The index was lower than that of January (20.6%) and that of December (25.5%). In an interview with the Buenos Aires television station Crónica, Milei celebrated, shortly before the release of the data, that inflation is slowing down. “A good number,” she said. In the last twelve months, Argentine inflation reached 276.2%. According to the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, the Consumer Price Index (IPC) will be single digits by mid-year. This Tuesday (12), Caputo announced the opening of food imports from the basic food basket to increase competition with local products and thus try to reduce consumer prices. His announcement was made after a meeting with supermarket representatives.
Milei and Caputo’s main economic banner is zero deficit. And in these first three months of government, the chainsaw (symbol of Milei’s campaign) worked actively, reducing the resources sent to the provinces and cutting ministries and personnel in areas such as science, cinema and human rights, among others.
Milei’s radical austerity speech shocked, however, in recent days, with the revelation made by the opposition that he and his ministers and secretaries had received a salary increase (48%), despite their criticism of recent salary increases for deputies and senators. . After the contradiction between the ‘caste’ (political) spending cut speech and the revelation of his salary increase, Milei annulled the measure. He blamed a decree by former president Cristina Kirchner for justifying the increase. But as Clarín published in Spanish, this Tuesday (12), the salary increase decree was signed by Milei himself and by the President’s Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse. Milei also announced the resignation of the Secretary of Labor, which was unrelated to his salary improvement.
Without a majority in the National Congress, Milei governs with a focus on public opinion – which can be volatile, depending on the situation and the patience of the population. Opinion polls released in recent days indicate that he maintains high levels of support and that his positive image remains similar to the result he obtained at the polls (56%) last year.
But the Milei government’s adjustment policy has left negative economic results. Industrial production fell 12.4% in January compared to the same month last year. The construction sector fell by almost 22% in the same period. This promises to be one of the most punished sectors of the Milei government. During the campaign, and after the election, he has said that the State should not get involved in works. In the interview with Crónica TV, this Tuesday, Milei said that “you can’t solve everything in one day” and again attributed the Argentine economic and social situation to the evils of politics over the last hundred years. “One hundred years, 40 years and more specifically in the last 20 years (Kirchnerism governments),” he said. In addition to the economic and social issue, with the increase in poverty, according to data from the Argentine Catholic University (UCA), Milei and his government are faced with the challenge of violence in the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe. There, in Last week, four point-blank murders occurred – two taxi drivers, a bus driver and a gas station attendant. The execution of the young gas station attendant was filmed by the local camera, where the killer left a message to local authorities saying that more deaths of innocent people would occur if the crime-fighting policy continued. The trigger for the criminals’ reaction was the transfer of a group of prisoners and an image (of inmates with shaved heads and sitting on the floor) that was associated with the actions of the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.
Despite speculation that the government would send the Armed Forces to Rosario, according to the legislation in force in Argentina, they cannot act directly in the fight against organized crime. Behind the scenes, the military also does not intend to participate in operations against civilians. “What is happening in Rosario is nothing new. But we sent all possible federal forces to the location. Not the Armed Forces, but logistical support (such as transport for the Armed Forces, for example),” said Milei. Milei’s focus is clearly zero deficit, but other challenges have presented themselves as expected in the mosaic of a government.