Milei’s ‘battles’

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, continues his habit of calling those who are the targets of his criticism “chaste”. Sometimes he quotes them between swear words. Milei has repeated that his main objective is zero deficit and thus continuing to combat the country’s traditional inflation. This Tuesday, the country risk rate, which is a thermometer for investors, fell again, in a sign of a better environment for investments. But high poverty rates remain worrying and evident in cities and in the interior of the country.

In these almost eleven months of government, since his inauguration last December, Milei has criticized politicians in general, the National Congress, economists, with first and last names, journalists, also with first and last names, and, in recent days, the rectors of public universities .

At the same time, Milei’s goal of reducing the size of the State includes announcements of privatizations such as that of the Belgrano Cargas railway line, which controls around 37% of the railway market in the freight sector. The government has also been looking for alternatives to privatize the airline Aerolíneas Argentinas. As the company has already been nationalized and privatized more than once, according to the ideological profile of each president who was at Casa Rosada, analysts say that, despite some surveys, there is no evidence of anyone interested in purchasing the company. Milei said he will hand it over to his workers.

In Congress, where it has 39 deputies and six senators, the government depends on other parties to approve its measures. And, despite not having enough votes, he managed to maintain his vetoes on increases for retirees and public universities. Some of the main political parties split in these first months of Milei’s administration. This was the case, last week, of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), a party owned by former president Raúl Alfonsín, the first president elected after the military dictatorship (1976-1983). The ‘battles of Milei’ include the constant changes in the structure of the San Martín Palace (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), in an emptying of the actions of Minister Diana Mondino, as Clarín has reported in Spanish. The Argentine president will participate in the G20 meeting, led by President Lula in Rio de Janeiro, on November 18th and 19th. Milei sent a letter to Lula, confirming her presence. The two have never spoken to each other and there is no possibility on the radar that they could have a conversation during the meeting. The Milei government was the only one not to sign the “Declaration on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment”, which recognizes the persistence of gender inequalities. In his campaign for President, Milei said that he would use the chainsaw to reduce the size of the State, that global warming does not exist and that there is no gender difference (including salaries), contradicting academic studies and studies by international organizations. In power, he indicates that he is being faithful to his campaign speeches, despite evidence contrary to his speeches, such as, for example, on gender and environmental issues.