Argentina to test "radical" economic experiments

Nov. 21, 2023

Argentine president-elect Javier Milei addresses supporters after winning Argentina's runoff presidential election on Sunday. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Argentine president-elect Javier Milei met with President Alberto Fernández on this morning, kicking off a delicate three-week transition period, reports Bloomberg.

In the midst of a crushing economic crisis, Argentine president-elect Javier “Milei has proposed turning the world’s 22nd largest economy into a laboratory for radical economic ideas that have largely been untested elsewhere,” reports the New York Times.

He wants to dollarize the country’s economy, drastically reduce public spending, slash government ministries and posts, privatize national companies and abolish the central bank.

“For some analysts, such “shock therapy” is necessary to rein in a bloated state and chart a new course for a country long in the economic doldrums. To other experts, it’s a recipe for disaster,” reports the Washington Post.

Nonetheless, many could be held up by realities that make them difficult to implement, say experts. Most economists believe that Milei’s plan to dollarize Argentina’s economy is the wrong approach — “a policy gamble with no exit that could lock Argentina into an unsustainable course and crash land the economy.” (Guardian)

Milei’s proposals “overlook the complexities of modern economies, ignore lessons from historical crises, and open the door for accentuating already severe inequalities,” according to a statement signed by more than 100 prominent left-leaning economists.

Many Milei supporters have argued that he is less extreme than his fiery rhetoric, but international experiences should temper this believe. “In the last three years, the US and Brazil have offered powerful reminders of the fragility of democracy. Mr Trump and Mr Bolsonaro have highlighted the truth in the idea that when someone tells you who they are, you should believe them the first time,” according to the Guardian editorial board.

More Argentina

• With a fragmented Congress, it is unclear whether Milei will be able to carry out some of his more conservative social agenda, such as rolling back abortion legalization — but already his victory has shifted the discourse in Argentina about women’s rights, particularly gender violence, reports the Guardian. Members of the LGBTQ+ community said they were also bracing for a rollback of their rights in the wake of the election.

• Milei allies yesterday backed his proposals in full force, after downplaying many of his more extreme views during the recent stages of the election. A key Milei ally said he hopes to have a legislative majority in two years to roll back abortion, and that the immediate objective is to remove progressivism from the state, particularly feminists." And if not, we will have failed,” said Agustín Laje on Sunday.

• Deputy-elect Lilia Lemoine also said her proposal to allow men to renounce paternity would be a project for further down the road if Libertad Avanza obtains a legislative majority. (Ámbito)

• Though Milei is keeping most cabinet appointments quiet, he already announced that Diana Mondino, an economist, will head the foreign ministry. She told reporters that one of the government’s main foreign policy goals was to end most regulations on imports and exports. She also said that Argentina would likely not enter the BRICS club of emerging nations. (New York Times)

• Milei spoke with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and his son Eduardo, yesterday. They enthusiastically celebrated the results of Argentina’s election and promised to attend the Dec. 10 inauguration. (YouTube)

• Indeed, “luminaries of the global far right are in raptures” over Milei’s victory, “which experts predict will turn Buenos Aires into a new stomping ground for the populist radical right,” reports the Guardian.

Regional Relations

• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he told European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen that he wants to clinch a trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur while still presiding over the South American bloc, in a phone call yesterday. Lula said they will try to meet this month at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to advance talks towards the long-awaited deal, reports Reuters.

• United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will travel to Antarctica this week with Chilean President Gabriel Boric to observe the impact of rising temperatures caused by climate change on the continent, reports Reuters.

• Colombian President Gustavo Petro, visiting Venezuela on Saturday, said he had proposed to the United States that it pay an "economic stabilization" bonus to Venezuelan migrants who stop in Colombia en route to the U.S. (Reuters)

Migration

• “The number of people crossing the Darién Gap, Panama, reporting having been subjected to sexual violence on their journey has spiked,” says MSF, calling for Panama and Colombia to provide greater protection. (Americas Migration Brief)

Mexico

• An ever growing number of people have disappeared in Mexico City, more than a thousand in some years – prompting questions about improving homicide statistics and challenging the Sheinbaum municipal government’s narrative that security has improved dramatically on its watch, reports the Guardian.

Colombia

• Colombian criminal groups are driven to recruit minors due to three main factors — financing through illegal activities; seeking territorial advantages in numbers; and as a “solution” for desperate groups, reports InSight Crime.

Haiti

• A Haitian judge overseeing the investigation into the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse ordered the arrest of Marky Kessa, the mayor of a Haitian beach town who flew to Florida to meet with a Haitian-American pastor and others now accused in killing, reports the Miami Herald.

Critter Corner

• “Freakishly smart” falcons called striated caracaras in the Malvinas/Falklands Islands can problem-solve as well as parrots. (New York Times)