(CNN Spanish) — Javier Mili said in his opening speech in front of Congress Square as thousands chanted in unison: “No silver”, “No silver”. “Adjustment is inevitable,” the new president concluded.
And so began the first week of Argentina’s new government, which took office with a legacy of 160% year-on-year inflation and promises from those around us and others that, in the short term, it will only get worse.
“The situation will get worse in the short term,” Miley had warned.
His Economy Minister Luis Caputo underscored that before the end of the 48-hour administration. Scarcity is the “origin of economic problems”. “What is a deficit? When the country spends more than it collects,” he said, and in a taped message announced a set of ten measures that would affect more than one sector.
Demonetization, partial reduction of subsidies for passenger transport and energy, closure of ministries and secretariats, suspension of public works resulting in layoffs, increase in taxes on imports and exports, and levy of taxes on profits in the sector of employees excluded by the previous government, are just some of the guidelines.
Immediately, powerful trade unions issued statements denying the announcements. “It is not ‘caste’. The adjustment is paid by the people,” the General Confederation of Labor (CGD) issued, and the bank union doubled down on the charge. “Savages” is the title of a message he previously posted on Twitter, social network X.
Luis Caputo (Office of the President of the Argentine Republic)
and Argentine Agricultural Federation Pronounced. “In the campaign he said something else,” the company’s president, Carlos Achetoni, said on a radio show. Later, they were invited by the government for a meeting in which, although the conflict did not escalate, there was no backtracking in the proceedings.
According to a list of wholesale suppliers reviewed by CNN, prices increased at supermarkets, with increases of more than 180% on some products; In some cases as high as 37% on fuels, as well as butchers, bakeries, streaming sites with dollar subscriptions, etc.
“In fact, to achieve the stability of the economy, measures that include fiscal consolidation are needed,” Guido Sack, director of economics at Fundar Research Center, told CNN.
without rest
Two days later, the security notification arrived. Patricia Bulrich, a former presidential candidate from one of the parties that faced Miley in the first election round, now a minister in the new government, presented her protocol for combating protests with street closures.
“The one who pays them,” he said, quoting the president and announcing a series of measures to follow aimed at allowing any form of opposition to impede free movement.
Quickly, left-wing groups moved past Bullrich on the network. “This is completely unconstitutional. She is the outlaw. The right to protest is the first of the rights,” wrote Miriam Bregman, head of the Left Labor Front and former vice presidential candidate.
Miley did not issue statements during his first four days in office. Neither is Sandra Petovello, the human capital minister responsible for the portfolio of ensuring social control. The president of La Libertad Avanza has said on more than one occasion that he will be “the only one with an open wallet” regarding spending on social policies.
Did Miley’s promises and yet to take action disappoint his voters?
“It’s like a combination of pragmatism with an awareness of limits and restrictions, and a loss of the unconsciousness of the election campaign,” political analyst Fagundo Nejamkis tells CNN, comparing the first week of Miley’s presidency to her original plans.
“Miley worked on the conscience and political culture of a lot of voters, which I wouldn’t underestimate from the beginning, and they all believed that they didn’t have to pay for any adjustments,” he adds. “What remains to be seen is the extent to which the electorate in the country is opposed, which, if applied clearly, has a greater impact on the population in general than on caste in particular,” reflects the director of the consultancy. Company Opina Argentina.
Later, in a televised interview with LN+, Minister Caputo said dollarization and closing the central bank, central axes of Mili’s election campaign, were still in the government’s plans.
A lifesaver on the last business day
As every day, on Friday the presidential spokesman Manuel Attorney gave his morning briefing to the press and announced some cuts in the public administration, including the number of drivers and cars and the sale of two planes owned by the oil company. YPF..
After the emergency measures already announced, the attorney expected them to start “defining the first contours of structural reforms” probably next week.
Finally on Friday, ml Appeared on Instagram He also said that “all initiatives falling on the private sector are temporary”. “My top priority today is to end hyperinflation (…) We are absolutely committed to ending hyperinflation and avoiding hyperinflation. Therefore, we have developed a highly leveraged program with strong fiscal reforms to bring the fiscal deficit to zero,” he said.
Later, the Betovello Portfolio Communications Team announced that the beneficiaries of the Empowerment Work Program will receive their bonus this Saturday.
Next week, Miley’s government may face the first mass protests in the streets, as December 20 is the anniversary of the social explosion of 2001 and, as every year, social organizations call for a march to the Plaza de Mayo.
“Time in politics is not a day, it is a process. “I wouldn’t be so quick to say, ‘That’s it, it won’t work, people are already disappointed,'” Nejamkis concluded.
