After six months in office, how is the right-wing president’s shock treatment for the nation’s economy and administration coming along?
Shortly after winning office, Mr. Milei declared, “Our country needs drastic changes.” “Steadyism has no place here.”
And he did not hesitate to act. His first set of policies included a 50% devaluation of the peso, a 50% reduction in state fuel subsidies, and a 50% reduction in the number of government departments.
The swift cutback in public spending has assisted Argentina in escaping a fiscal deficit of two trillion pesos, or the gap between government spending and revenue.
Additionally, Argentina reported a surplus in January, February, and March—a first for the country since 2012.
Yet Mr. Milei, a libertarian by nature, has made reducing inflation his top aim. Last year, he told the news that inflation was “the most regressive tax that most afflicts people.”.
The pace of inflation has decelerated; in April, it dropped to 8.8% month over month, marking the first time since October that it was not in double digits. In nations with historically high inflation rates, such as Argentina, this inflation index is strictly adhered to.
However, the more widely accepted annual inflation rate reached 289.4% in April. To put that into context, the annual rate in the UK is currently at 2.3%.
