By Veronica Dalto
Buenos Aires, Jun 10 (EFE) – Argentina’s President Javier Milei completed six months in office on Monday, during which he has carried out a severe economic adjustment plan that has allowed him to achieve a budget surplus; however, he is still facing the political complications of being a minority in parliament.
“An orthodox economic program of economic stabilization has been implemented and the ‘chainsaw’ (as Milei likes to describe his subsidy cuts) has gone through every corner of the state, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said at a press conference Monday.
Despite the parliamentary minority, Milei has managed to balance Argentina’s public accounts and slow down inflation thanks to an unprecedented adjustment plan.
However, there are still doubts about the sustainability of his “shock” plan in a country where poverty is growing and inflation remains high.
Milei achieved a balanced budget in May, moving the country from a fiscal deficit of 6.1% of GDP in 2023 and inflation of 25.5% per month in December to 5%.
He has also made progress in cleaning up the central bank’s balance sheet, which is crucial to lifting the heavy restrictions that still weigh on the foreign exchange market.
“We have done what we could with the tools we have,” Adorni explained, because “it is still necessary to face the structural reforms that require the votes of Congress,” such as the modernization of the labor market or the regime for large investments.
“It has been six months and the Congress has not approved any of the government’s laws, and yet the results have been excellent and extraordinary,” added the spokesman.
The Senate will meet on Wednesday to debate the Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, also known as the “Law of Bases” or “Omnibus Law,” with which Milei intends to pass an economic structural reform.
The government also seeks to attract investment by deregulating the economy and reducing the size of the state.
The official party, Freedom Advances (La Libertad Avanza), which is in a parliamentary minority and has no provincial governors, has been negotiating the approval of the law.
Milei’s government has encountered difficulties in management and governance because it is a new political force, and the president has refused to enter into management agreements with other parties and has refused to compromise with what he calls the “political caste.”
Milei had to get rid of his cabinet chief Nicolás Posse, and appoint his Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, a politician open to negotiations with opposition leaders.
Meanwhile, the Superministry of Human Capital, headed by Sandra Petovello, is having difficulty managing the tasks it has grouped – development, education, and labor- and is facing a scandal over food distribution to soup kitchens. EFE
vd/mcd/ics
