Almost a year ago, on November 19, 2023, Argentina elected ultraliberal Javier Milei as president. This provocative economist, a regular on television, applies a drastic austerity policy to the country’s economy and reorients its foreign policy.
“At some point, [les gens] will die of hunger, so they will necessarily do everything not to die. Therefore, I do not need to intervene to solve the consumption problem. The problem will resolve itself.” The tone was set by Argentinian President Javier Milei during a conference given at Stanford University last May.
For Javier Milei, who claims to be anarcho-capitalist, everything must be managed by the market, and not by the State. Since taking office last December, he has massively deregulated the country’s economy. Barely elected, he devalued the Argentine peso by more than 50%. He also cut public spending. Shock therapy for the third largest economy in Latin America, which has been plunged into a serious economic crisis for several years. The inflation rate reached more than 200% for the whole of 2023.
The shock of austerity
The budget cuts by Javier Milei’s government have a direct impact on the daily lives of a large number of Argentines. “We have seen some pretty incredible scenes in universities in recent months (…), universities which have been forced to cut off the lights in the corridors, to block a certain number of elevators,” reports in Géopolitis David Copello, specialist on Argentina at the Catholic Institute of Paris and the Center for Research and Documentation on the Americas. He points out that the Argentine state has reduced its spending by around 30% since the start of the year, a “colossal” drop.
Since December, 5 million Argentines have fallen into poverty. More than half of the population now lives on less than 268,000 pesos per month, the equivalent of 250 euros. During his inauguration, Javier Milei warned his compatriots that there would be sacrifices to make: “We know that in the short term, the situation will deteriorate. But we will then see the fruits of our efforts, once we will have laid the foundations for solid and sustainable growth over time.”
Opposition confused
Inflation has slowed significantly since Javier Milei came to power, but has remained around 4% per month since May. For David Copello, “the country has not exploded for the moment, in particular because some people were very attentive to this indicator which is inflation which is partly in the process of being reduced. The opposition is also very disoriented The electoral defeat last November was scathing for the main opposition force which is Peronism, but also for the right which had lived in a fairly structured coalition logic for around fifteen years and which today. Today is very fragmented. So compared to Milei, we have relatively sporadic – although massive – movements, strikes, very important but occasional demonstrations, and not a movement that can establish itself over time with a force that would be disciplined and. with a leader.”
However, Javier Milei cannot implement his program entirely as he sees fit. The president does not have a majority in Parliament. “He is obliged to negotiate with the political forces which are located in a form of soft center of the Argentine Congress,” explains David Copello.
Pro-American foreign policy
Javier Milei reorients Argentina’s foreign policy. He refuses the invitation from the BRICS to join them, while his predecessor had invested in obtaining membership in this group, which includes Brazil and China, two of Argentina’s main trading partners.
The Argentine president intends to move closer to the United States and wishes to obtain “global partner” status with NATO. During the presidential campaign, Javier Milei clearly announced the direction he wanted to give to the country’s foreign policy: “Our geopolitical alignment is that of the United States and Israel. This is our international policy. We “Let’s not align ourselves with the communists.”
“The multipolar logic in which Argentina was part until now has effectively been swept under the carpet. Argentina is not going to participate in BRICS, is no longer talking to Iran or Russia, as could have been the case with the previous government”, underlines David Copello. Javier Milei appears with Jair Bolsonaro or Donald Trump and regularly denounces communism and socialism during his speeches.
He advocates a realignment with what he calls the West. A largely “fantasized” West, according to David Copello: “When he says: ‘I am going to align myself with the United States,’ it is not exactly Joe Biden that he is thinking of and his politics which he could describe as “wokist” in his terms, but rather to Donald Trump and this agenda of the global extreme right. The South, in this whole story, is completely left out.
Argentina signed a contract in April to acquire 24 F-16s, bought from Denmark. American planes preferred to those offered by China.
Elsa Anghinolfi, Mélanie Ohayon
