While 33,000 public jobs have already been eliminated in less than a year of government, Javier Milei intends to continue his austerity policy in Argentina in 2025. And to make it clear, the ultraliberal president chose to use a radical image. He in fact affirmed on Tuesday that next year he will continue to cut public spending with a “chainsaw”.
“I have started to think about the government's measures for what 2025 will be like. Given the panorama, I confirm that I will continue “fully” with the chainsaw. LONG LIVE FREEDOM, DAMN IT! », Wrote the president on his X account.
An “anarcho-capitalist” elected in 2023
Since his inauguration in December 2023, the “anarcho-capitalist” Milei, as he describes himself, has led a drastic austerity program, with the objective of a “zero budget deficit”, closing state organizations and freezing construction sites. public, drying up subsidies (energy, transport, etc.), tightening funding to the provinces, among others.
The “chainsaw” was a key visual symbol of candidate Milei during his victorious 2023 presidential campaign, a device that he readily brandished during meetings, his weapon against the “enemy state”.
The Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger, recently highlighted that the government had eliminated 33,291 public jobs at the end of October, including more than 20,000 in the central administration, and 11,000 in public companies.
Falling inflation, rising poverty
With this shock therapy, the government welcomes a return to consecutive monthly budget surpluses since the start of 2024, unprecedented in Argentina for sixteen years. And decelerating inflation around + 3% to 4% monthly, compared to 17% on average over the year 2023. The economy is however stuck in recession, and GDP is expected to contract by 3.5% to end of 2024 according to the IMF, which however predicts a strong recovery in 2025, at + 5%.
Poverty affected more than 52% of the population in the first half of the year, according to official figures, a jump of 11 percentage points in six months. Even if Javier Milei affirms that after a peak at the beginning of 2024, under the impact of the first shock measures (devaluation of December 2023 in particular), poverty has started to decline.
Related News :