100 days after the Milei government, how is your libertarian experiment going in Argentina?

He invites his acolytes to join the “Forces of Heaven” and governs frantically from social networks: the ultraliberal Javier Milei He ordered Argentina’s accounts at the beginning of his administration thanks to a draconian adjustment that strained the political and social climate.

“There’s no money”, Milei said upon assuming office as president on December 10, when he promised to combat rampant inflation, destroy the “political caste” and cut the size of the State with “a chainsaw.”

One hundred days later, how is your “libertarian liberal” experiment going?

Megadecree and setbacks in Congress

The heart of Milei’s plan to deregulate the Argentine economy is a megadecree that repeals or modifies more than 300 regulations and an Omnibus Law that in its original version contained more than 600 articles.

But in these three months both projects suffered setbacks in Congress, where Milei’s small party is a minority: the Omnibus Law failed in February in the debate of deputies and the megadecree was rejected on Thursday in the Senate.

These defeats show that the president failed to convey the urgency of his reforms, justified according to him in the inheritance received from the previous government.

“Milei would like to promote his political and economic project at 100 km per hour, but the government’s cruising speed is much lower.”“Carlos Malamud, principal researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute, told AFP.

Now its program is in the hands of the deputies, who must review a watered-down version of the Omnibus Law and make the final decision on the megadecree, which remains in force unless it is also rejected in the Lower House.

But even if it passes, its constitutionality remains in question. Political consultant Carlos Fara told AFP that “In Justice, a good part” of the megadecree “is mortally wounded.”

Chainsaw on

Shortly after taking office, Milei turned on her “chainsaw”: suspended public works, did not renew state contracts, reduced ministries by half, liberalized prices and rental contracts and devalued the peso by more than 50%, causing an inflation of 25.5% in December which cooled in February to 13%.

With the devaluation and an increase in prices of 276% annual to February, the purchasing power of Argentines was destroyed, particularly that of retirees.

The economist president’s goal – to reach zero deficit this year – is more ambitious than what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) itself asks of him, with which Argentina maintains a credit agreement for US$ 44,000 million.

In these 100 days, Milei rebuilt the Central Bank’s ailing gross reserves and achieved a financial surplus in January and February, something unprecedented since the beginning of 2011.

“There is an order”said independent economist Marina Dal Poggetto in a recent television interview. ““Stabilization is working even better than one originally imagined, but there are questions about governance.”

Milei is now seeking to raise funds for US$15 billion with the IMF and private parties to eliminate exchange controls in the middle of the year, which has given rise to various types of dollars.

“People are clear that we are going through a very hard time, but they are beginning to see a way out,” the president told Radio La Red.

Social tension

The other side of this “ordering” It is the social tension fueled by layoffs, price increases and increases in public service rates due to the removal of subsidies.

Medicines increased 40 percentage points more than general inflation, causing a huge drop in sales. This caused many to abandon chronic treatments.

“Between eating and buying the medicine, people choose to eat,” pharmacist Marcela López told AFP in Buenos Aires.

In February, while the Omnibus Law was being debated, thousands of people protested in front of Congress and were repressed by the police.

They also demonstrated when the delivery of food to the nearly 40,000 community kitchens was suspended, at a time when poverty hits almost the entire population. 60% of the population. The objective, according to the government, is to audit the system and provide direct assistance.

The cuts also affected the budget of universities, state support for cinema and research in science and technology.

The president is holding out in opinion polls, which place his popularity close to fifty%and has accustomed Argentines to his eccentric style: he governs and accuses his opponents of betrayal in the X network, quotes the biblical Book of Maccabees and speaks of his team as “The forces of heaven.”

Premiere in Davos

As part of the adjustment, Milei flies on commercial lines with a small entourage.

This is how it arrived in Davos in January, its international premiere, where it intrigued the world’s economic elite by warning that “The West is in danger” and criticize social justice and “radical feminism.”

Despite his media embraces with Donald Trump – whom he admires – and Pope Francis – with whom he reconciled -, abroad has hardly been a priority for Milei, except for having suspended Argentina’s accession to the BRIC bloc.

The exception is Israel, where the president traveled to show his closeness to the Jewish State and his spiritual interest in Judaism.

Diego Giacomini, who co-wrote four economics books with Milei, told the radio that his now former friend “He believes he has a divine mission.”to what “consists of transforming Argentina and taking it to the philosophy of Number One, which is God, liberalism; and remove it from the philosophy of Satan, which is socialism.”

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