UN Milei Ends Argentina’s Deficit After 123 Years - Milei’s leadership style is proving effective: “According to opinion polls, he remains a popular president, despite having implemented one of the most radical austerity programs ever recorded.”

When Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina in 2023, many believed the nation was headed toward disaster. A libertarian economist and TV personality who claimed to take telepathic advice from his five cloned English mastiffs, Milei also described himself as an “anarchocapitalist” and “tantric sex guru.” He also advocated for the legalization of organ sales, the unrestricted ownership of firearms and the dismantling of the central bank.

Yet, “El Loco”—The Madman, as his countrymen call him— accomplished the unimaginable: Argentina’s fiscal deficit was eliminated for the first time in 123 years.

In December 2024, Argentina emerged from the severe recession it entered in late 2023. Also, annual inflation is down from near 300% last April to nearly 100% (or about 2.5% monthly).

“Milei’s government has achieved what many consider a miracle in terms of cutting down inflation and stabilizing the economy and the US dollar’s price, two long-standing Argentinian traumas,” says Juan Pablo Ferrero of the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies at the University of Bath. “These are notable accomplishments upon which Milei is now basing his political success.”

Milei’s actions have also made Argentina expensive, Ferrero observes. Local and labor-intensive industries are struggling.

“Is this development model sustainable without a strong and dynamic industrial sector? So far, Milei’s approach seems to rely heavily on agro-exports, mining, and the sale of gas and oil,” Ferrero argues. The risks include the reprimarization of the economy, with the middle class paying the price.

Yet, Ferrero concedes, against many predictions, Milei’s leadership style is proving effective: “According to opinion polls, he remains a popular president, despite having implemented one of the most radical austerity programs ever recorded.”

Figures show that the economic recovery has not translated into better living conditions for many, with the country’s poverty rate jumping to 53% in the first half of 2024, an 11-point increase. Experts caution that Milei’s charisma isn’t enough. He will soon need to deliver broad and substantial growth that improves Argentinians’ living conditions if he wants to succeed in the 2025 mid-term elections.

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[Super-Chevy454]

I don't think what he is doing is sustainable, but credit where credit is due, he is getting results right now and I have to say I am somewhat impressed. We will see if they can keep this up long term.

Let's hope so and let's hope then his successor will keep the same course.

 

[Agamemnon Busmalis]

There was literally no other option anymore. This inflation is driven by currency debasement and the only way to stop that debasement is to stop the fiscal deficits.

 

[Kim]

Who would have guessed that following Econ 101 would lead to (at least temporary) success?

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Who would have guessed that following Econ 101 would lead to (at least temporary) success?

That's a thing then Justin Trudeau should have done...

 

[Kim]

That's a thing then Justin Trudeau should have done...

Why would he? Trudeau's goal was never to fix or improve the Canadian economy.

 

[pwnest injun]

Why wouldn't they just go to Israel?

"After the Civil War, why didn't all of the slave owners just move onto a plantation together??"

"Why don't parasitoid wasps just lay their eggs in their own torsos??"

"Why don't all of the Jews just live in Israel??"

 

[AllieKat]

Imagine how much more successful he would be if he DID listen to the telepathic messages of his five mastiffs?

 

[northstar747]

Which makes it even more hilarious when they try to pin something on Milei. The guy is speedrunning the unfucking of our economy and so far he is exceedingly successful at it.

Is it true the Argentinians agree with letting Milei do these things with the understanding that "yes it will hurt, but we need to do this in order to get better"?

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

"After the Civil War, why didn't all of the slave owners just move onto a plantation together??"

"Why don't parasitoid wasps just lay their eggs in their own torsos??"

"Why don't all of the Jews just live in Israel??"

So instead of collectively moving to a place that is already their own soil, they collectively move to a place that's not their own soil.

 

[Ahriman]

Is it true the Argentinians agree with letting Milei do these things with the understanding that "yes it will hurt, but we need to do this in order to get better"?

Yes - but this is something that he had already said during his campaign. He stated many times that it would take time to ride out the "aftershock" of the previous economic mismanagement, he explained pretty well how he was going to do it, and more importantly, why. This was key in earning people's confidence, especially because the other candidate, Sergio Massa, only said "uhh we are gonna make things better trust me on this one", but the media -that he had in his pocket- barely pushed him for more answers, whereas they kept trying to poke holes into Milei's logic and "wild" economic measures, to no avail. This is another reason why he's enjoying such high approval ratings, he had to put up with immense opposition, especially from the media, from the get-go. He had to be transparent in everything he stated, he had to back up everything he said, and right now, he has delivered in everything he's said he was going to do.

Everything that was done to him, to undermine him, turned out in his favor.

 

[Rootless Cosmopolitan]

I’m so happy for Argentina. They’ve really suffered enough. I have heard about them keeping their wealth in piles of bricks (like, literal building materials) because everything else tended to get seized or devalued.

 

[Fata v3]

There was literally no other option anymore. This inflation is driven by currency debasement and the only way to stop that debasement is to stop the fiscal deficits.

In some sense it was the opposite under the old govt. They refused to debase the currency and therefore because of low currency reserves getting foreign currency was crazy hard. Because importers couldn't source USD/EUR or whatever at the official rate through the central bank companies stopped selling to Argentinia which of course made goods more scrace and therefore inflation.

The govt had a mandate that foreign suppliers could only be paid 180 days after importation of goods. Yeah, like anyone wanted to take that credit risk.
There was an exception if you were an exporter that you could use your foreign currency for imports.

Ofc the smart locals setup companies offshore where when they exported goods they parked the foreign currency in another country under a shell company, because that's the incentives a shit govt creates.

Overly simplistic but the previous govt really fucked things up by the end and tried everything they could through emergency mandates to stop it being exposed just how little foreign currency was available. That's one of the primary reasons peso tanked sharply with Milei on day 1 as it needed to face reality to source USD again (still restrictions, allocation of foreign currency was prioritized on new trade freely and old debt to be settled over 2-3 yrs)

Source: my ass because I have to deal with argies and they also say they are the right customer just in the wrong country

 

[Zertes]

Argentina is weird. It's where a ton of Nazis fled to post ww2. It became a commie economic time bomb. And now a Jew is making steps to have it be a functioning capitalist country again.

Maybe they found the one Jew who asked "...but what if we don't fuck up our host country?"

There is also the possibility that it's just him putting up the theatrics so the Jews themselves won't make a stink about antisemitism, like: "Ok, ok, I'll touch the fucking wall for a picture, now leave me alone".

Milei is not Jewish by blood or ancestry, he is of Italy ancestry rather he is a religious convert to Judaism. He converted from Catholicism to Chadbad/Hasidic Judaism and as far as I know the reason for that was because he studied Jewish mysticism/esoterism, like the Kabbalah

 

[Snekposter]

Milei is not Jewish by blood or ancestry, he is of Italy ancestry rather he is a religious convert to Judaism. He converted from Catholicism to Chadbad/Hasidic Judaism and as far as I know the reason for that was because he studied Jewish mysticism/esoterism, like the Kabbalah

And yet somehow this Jew-loving schizo has managed to achieve the impossible: turning Argentina's economy from a total clusterfuck to a manageable clusterfuck.

 

[Zertes]

And yet somehow this Jew-loving schizo has managed to achieve the impossible: turning Argentina's economy from a total clusterfuck to a manageable clusterfuck.

He achieved that because he is a Jewish schizo not despite that, never underestimate the occult power of tantric sex and telepathic dogs.

Anyways, it will be actually interesting if he decides that he is popular or stable enough to go from practical minarchist to practical Anarcho-capitalism. Bring the Argentinian Confederation back as an Anarcho-capitalist state please otherwise nothing ever happens

 

[SCV]

"Why don't parasitoid wasps just lay their eggs in their own torsos??"

This fucking killed me for whatever reason. Actually laughed out loud.

 

[Brahma]

Why wouldn't they just go to Israel?

Because without controlling other nations and directing their blood and treasure into Israel's coffers, it would cease to exist

 

[Justa Grata Honoria]

Let's try this again

AFUERA

 

[Tasty Tatty]

He took a big ass loan for their country, putting them more in debt.
A lot of Milei good deeds are highly propaganda.. and it's suspicious, maybe as suspicious as the many Jews suddenly landing on Patagonia and the government celebrating Jewish holidays in a majority Catholic society.

 

[BelUwUga]

Milei’s actions have also made Argentina expensive, Ferrero observes. Local and labor-intensive industries are struggling.

“Is this development model sustainable without a strong and dynamic industrial sector? So far, Milei’s approach seems to rely heavily on agro-exports, mining, and the sale of gas and oil,” Ferrero argues. The risks include the reprimarization of the economy, with the middle class paying the price.

Yet, Ferrero concedes, against many predictions, Milei’s leadership style is proving effective: “According to opinion polls, he remains a popular president, despite having implemented one of the most radical austerity programs ever recorded.”

Figures show that the economic recovery has not translated into better living conditions for many, with the country’s poverty rate jumping to 53% in the first half of 2024, an 11-point increase. Experts caution that Milei’s charisma isn’t enough. He will soon need to deliver broad and substantial growth that improves Argentinians’ living conditions if he wants to succeed in the 2025 mid-term elections.

Without diving into an international econ dissertation the "reprimarization" is one of those things that hurts in the short term for extremely outmatched long-term gains. Focusing on the local is the opposite, hurts less now but hurts way more in the long run. Ag, mining, and petro are all labor intensive and have a lot of high paying, entry level/labor work. Low/low-middle class gets a massive boost and middle/upper-middle benefits if they don't mind getting their hands dirty. Guess what those lower classes do? They spend their money. If you can hold out through the instability that rising tide bolsters all businesses.

People will put up with short term austerity and increases in poverty, when there is a clear goal that benefits them long term. A balanced budget and a foundation for a prospering economy is worth the cost. If you're inflating currency, raising rates, and fucking over the little guy just so the big guys can fuck them harder down the line, it doesn't play as well. I'd bet balanced budget alone and hope gets him 2025. I'd be most concerned about beyond and making sure succession is planned in a way this isn't just a flash in the pan.