The 'lion' Milei celebrates one year as president of Argentina: more hits than misses

Javier Milei has completed his first year as president of Argentina. The libertarian economist, who was elected to lead the South American country as an outsider to put an end to what the president called the caste, ergo traditional politics, especially that related to the Kirchnerist current of Peronism, has had great achievements and some inexplicable mistakes or situations.

The most relevant scourges that have affected Argentina for decades have been inflation, insecurity, corruption and poverty. The fact that now the Argentine population entrusted the solution to these problems to a libertarian has been a hard blow for left-wing populism and even for the so-called warm politicians.

Milei, with his charisma and courage to confront the most stale of traditional politics, has achieved something that seemed unthinkable in Argentina: the population began to demand privatizations and deregulation of the economy to give more power to the people and put an end to the idea that a given government should take over the State to fill it with militants and distribute public money to their friends, which eventually is what generates inflation and poverty.

The main successes of the government

President Javier Milei has proven to be an honest and sincere person, which for Argentine politics is no small thing. He has said that the solution for the country was going to go through difficult times at first, since to fixing the economy and make the necessary adjustment is not a walk in the park, of course.

The Milei government managed to avoid the hyperinflation that Argentina was heading for and was able to reduce inflation drastically. And it was able to do this by curbing the issuance of money, a tool that previous authorities have used to finance rampant spending. Inflation, which had soared above 25% per month in December 2023 when he took office, has fallen to 2.7% in October 2024, the lowest since November 2021, and November's is expected to be 2.5%.

In addition, the price of the free dollar, which can be purchased in the so-called 'cuevas' and is officially illegal but commonly used to exchange houses in Argentina, fell drastically and remains relatively stable and close to the price of the official dollar. However, in this regard, it should be noted that Milei had promised to "blow up" the Central Bank and dollarize the economy. What decision will he finally make? We shall see.

Milei has also reduced public spending. The libertarian, who came to power claiming that he was going to pass the 'chainsaw' to adjust the State, cut it by 35% in the first half of 2024 (5.6 of GDP), an unprecedented fact in Argentina.

As for the blockades of roads and streets, especially in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires by the so-called social organizations which harmed millions of people, they are almost no longer carried out. This is due to the joint policy of the national government and the authorities of the Argentine capital.

It should be noted that the leaders of many of these social organizations, who officiate as mediators between the authorities and the beneficiaries of the so-called social organizations, are accused of embezzlement and of blackmailing the members of their groups, whom they forced to attend the marches in order to continue receiving state economic aid, and of keeping a large amount of that money. The Milei government set out to get these mediators out of the way.

Milei also managed to drastically reduce the country risk, ergo the risk inherent in investing and financing in one country as opposed to another. It recently fell below 740 points despite having been at 1,923 when the libertarian took office.

The narco violence has also been reduced in the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, after the national Ministry of Security took action on the matter.

Milei also managed to place Argentina on the side of the free world at the geopolitical level, remaining a firm ally of Israel and the United States, in contrast to Kirchnerism, which preferred countries such as Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, China and Russia.

It should be noted that Milei achieved these successes and many more despite the fact that La Libertad Avanza, the party to which he belongs, has no mayor, no governor and large minorities in both Houses.

The main mistakes of the government

One of the first mistakes of Milei's government was the fact of having received Daniel Scioli, an old political fox of the caste who was close to running as candidate of the Peronist party Union for the Fatherland in the presidential elections won by Milei, and appointing him as Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports, three aspects that the State does not have to deal with. What is Scioli doing there, what is the political strategy behind this appointment? It is not understood.

Another mistake of the government is related to justice, since Milei nominated the controversial federal judge Ariel Lijo to fill a vacancy in the Supreme Court of Justice, who is in the spotlight for allegedly guaranteeing impunity for the corrupt. According to the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), an organization that advocates for equal access to justice, half of the corruption cases that Lijo has in his court, for example, have been under investigation for ten years or more. Why does Milei want this judge in this important position? It does not make sense.

Conclusion

Milei, like every human being, has had successes and mistakes. However, he has managed to take Argentina to a new era, he has changed the statist mind of many citizens, who began to understand that the country's ills were not rooted in the market, since it was precisely the previous administrations that led it to be one of the most closed in the world.

The weariness with traditional politics has resulted in Milei continuing to obtain great popular support in spite of the brutal but necessary adjustment he has carried out. And this support must be harnessed by the libertarian president and not stop the march forward.

Milei is the lion, yes, but the hyenas are on the prowl and are capable of doing anything to devour him.