The ultraliberal Javier Milei took office this Sunday as president of Argentina, in an event held at the Congress headquarters in Buenos Aires, and thus became the tenth leader of the country under a democratic regime. In his inauguration speech he spoke of the “worst inheritance” a government has ever received, assured that the country’s “history of decline and decay” is over, and painted a picture of a country facing several “emergencies.”
Amid cries of “Argentina, Argentina!”, Milei and her new vice president, Victoria Villarruel, proclaimed their loyalty to the Argentine State in the presence of their predecessors, Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner, whom they criticized.
Milei reviewed the legacy left by the Government of Peronist Alberto Fernández (2019-2023) to draw a harsh portrait of the country’s situation and in which it will have to make difficult economic decisions and, in that sense, compared the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall until the results of the last Argentine elections.
“Like the fall of the Berlin Wall, these elections marked a turning point in our history,” said the new Argentine President.
“No government has received a worse inheritance than the one we are receiving. Kirchnerism, which at the beginning boasted of having twin surpluses, today leaves us with twin deficits of 17% of GDP,” he stated, along with inflation that is growing at a annual rate of 300%, with economic activity paralyzed, a poverty rate of 45% and a destitution rate close to 10%.
In his first speech as Argentine president, he reviewed the country’s history, starting with the declaration of independence and the Constitution of the time, which claimed that it was liberal and made Argentina “the first world power.”
“At the beginning of the 20th century we were the beacon of the West,” he said in a speech attended by thousands of followers and other heads of state, such as the king of Spain and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The now Argentine president blamed the political leaders of the last hundred years for the current state of Argentina, arguing that “they insisted on defending a model that only generates poverty, stagnation and misery,” a cycle that he said will end as of today.
“We put an end to a great and sad story of decline and decay and begin the path of the reconstruction of our country,” he promised, choosing as “fundamental institutions private property, the market free of state intervention, free competition, the division of labor and social cooperation”.
He announced that fiscal adjustment and the end of monetary issuance are part of his economic plan and guaranteed that stagflation “will be the last straw” for “the reconstruction of Argentina.”
“Unfortunately I have to repeat it: there is no money. The conclusion is that there is no alternative to adjustment and there is no alternative to shock,” said Milei, after taking office.
The President admitted that the shock plan that he will implement will have a negative impact on the level of activity, employment, real wages and the rate of poverty and indigence.
“There will be stagflation, it is true, but it is not very different from what happened in the last two years,” he said.
He confirmed that he will apply a fiscal adjustment of 5% of GDP which, he promised, will fall “almost entirely” on the State and not on the private sector, and also that he will “clean up” the liabilities of the Central Bank and put an end to the monetary issue. which, he insisted, is the cause of high Argentine inflation.
But he said that monetary policy operates with a lag of 18 to 24 months, so he anticipated that inflation will remain high, citing forecasts from private entities that predict monthly rates of between 20 and 40% between December of this year and next February. .
Milei spoke of a delicate fiscal and monetary scenario that, in his assessment, places Argentina on the verge of hyperinflation, which could reach 15,000% annually.
“Our highest priority is to make all possible efforts to avoid this catastrophe, which would bring poverty to more than 90% and misery to more than 50%,” he insisted.
Milei also warned about the “inheritance” in terms of debt: “The bomb in terms of debt amounts to 100,000 million dollars (about 92,800 million euros), which will have to be added to the approximately 420,000 million dollars (about 390,000 million euros). euros) ) of the existing debt,” he warned.
Added to these are the maturities in 2024 of the sovereign debt issued in pesos, for an amount equivalent to about 90,000 million dollars (about 83,500 million euros), and the maturities with multilateral organizations, for an amount of 25,000 million dollars (about 83,500 million euros). about 23,200 million euros). euros).
A country in emergency
In a speech in which he maintained that “in all areas, no matter where you look at it, the situation in Argentina is an emergency” and the economy is “deplorable,” Milei insisted, from a platform installed at the foot of the stairs of Congress. National, that in terms of security, “Argentina has become a bloodbath”, that one of the most important cities in the country – in reference to Rosario – was “kidnapped” by drug trafficking and violence, that citizens were “abandoned” by class politics and that only 3% of crimes are convicted.
“Follow, follow the criminals, it’s over,” he said, followed by popular cries: “Police, police, police.”
In social matters, Milei described that “half of the population is poor, with the social fabric completely broken”, meaning that around 20 million Argentines “cannot live a decent life” and six million children go to bed hungry. , walk barefoot on the street or use drugs.
“Plans to combat poverty generate more poverty,” he stated, insisting that “the only way to get out of poverty is with more freedom.”
Milei also highlighted the worrying education figures in Argentina and compared them to the fact that the country was the first “to end illiteracy in the world”, to which people responded: “They did it on purpose!”
In terms of health, he stated that the “system is completely collapsed” because there are “destroyed” hospitals, doctors who charge “a pittance” and a lack of basic health services and that, for this reason, Argentina could have had 30 thousand deaths. . during the Covid-19 pandemic, instead of 130 thousand.
Milei criticized the “current state” that politicians speak of as a formula “to justify the enormous increase in public spending that only benefits them.”
In terms of infrastructure, he warned that only 16% of the roads are paved and 11% in good condition, which is why 15,000 Argentines die each year in road accidents.
Before, in his first formal act, Milei signed the honor book of the Chamber of Deputies with the message: “Long live freedom, damn it.” Milei did not address the legislative chamber, and Vice President Villaruel thanked him on her behalf.
“It is a moment that will remain forever in our hearts and I want to thank you for this gesture of accompanying us from other countries in the world and provinces,” said the vice president.
Javier Milei will be the president of Argentina for the period 2023-2027, after winning the second electoral round, held on November 19.
Source: TSF
