Milei gets serious: Argentina's new president takes up the chainsaw

Market-radical and authoritarian - Milei gets serious: Argentina's new president takes up the chainsaw

Javier Milei's first official acts come as no real surprise. With a chainsaw in his hand, Argentina's new president campaigned for slashing social spending and radically restructuring the state. Even many of his supporters probably thought the plans of the self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist" were puffery. However, less than two weeks after taking office, it is clear that the right-wing populist economic liberal is getting serious with his announced "shock therapy".

In the first few days after taking power, Milei's government devalued the peso by half, thereby increasing the cost of living for 46 million Argentinians by half in one fell swoop. At the same time, subsidies for energy and transport were cut and state construction contracts were discontinued - these measures also primarily affect wage-dependent employees. In addition, all state employees who have been employed for less than a year are to be made redundant. Economics Minister Luis Caputo justified the cuts with the "addiction" to state money and corruption in the country.

In fact, Argentina has long been suffering from an economic crisis and the fourth highest inflation in the world. This year alone, prices have risen by 160 percent and, according to the central bank, the inflation rate is set to rise to 185 percent by the end of the year. At the same time, gross domestic product is shrinking massively. The radical devaluation of the national currency and the new government's austerity measures are further exacerbating the situation, especially for the 40 percent of the population who are already living below the poverty line.

Tough stance against demonstrators

So far, there have been no major protests against the new government's austerity policy. But Milei has also prepared for this eventuality. In a presidential decree at the beginning of the week, his Interior Minister Patricia Bullrich announced a crackdown on demonstrators: According to the decree, the police are to break up road blockades with the utmost severity. Anyone organizing protests could also be prosecuted under environmental law, for example for burning garbage cans. Foreigners who take part in protests are threatened with deportation. The government also wants to compile a list of all organizations that call for demonstrations. The decree threatens people who take children and young people to protests with sanctions from the youth welfare office. However, Milei's move towards authoritarianism is also evident in other areas.

As announced during the election campaign, the new president has halved the number of ministries from 18 to nine. Significantly, he has abolished the Ministries of Education, Culture, Labor and Social Development. The former Ministry for Women, Gender and Diversity is now under a newly created Ministry for Human Capital - this term also refers to Milei's ultra-liberal economic thinking. However, Milei's critics fear his stance on the military dictatorship, which ended exactly 40 years ago with the return to democracy, even more than the dismantling of the welfare state.

What is his stance on the military dictatorship?

Around 30,000 people were murdered by the right-wing military junta that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Argentina's society is still coming to terms with these crimes today, and many of the perpetrators were sentenced to long prison terms. However, in recent years, those forces that justify torture, murders and the "disappearance" of political opponents by the military and call for an end to legal persecution have also become stronger. It seems clear which side Milei is on.

Even before the anniversary of the end of the dictatorship on Sunday, an appeals committee released Horacio Losito and Julio Rafael Barreiro from prison. The two ex-military men had been sentenced to long prison terms for crimes against humanity. It is not certain whether the new government had any direct influence on the decision.

The main thing is that Milei's dogs are doing well

What is certain, however, is that Milei's Vice President Victoria Villarruel is a supporter of the military dictatorship. Her father fought with Horacio Losito in the Falklands War against Great Britain in 1982. After his release from prison, a recording of Losito emerged in which he proclaims: "Long live freedom, damn it!" - one of Javier Milei's campaign slogans. The right-wing lawyers' association "Justice and Unity" also celebrated Losito's release on X:

Al Cnl Horacio Losito VGM le acaban de conceder la libertad. pic.twitter.com/XrlFp0d3my

— Justicia y Concordia 💙🇦🇷💙 (@Justicia_y_C) December 15, 2023

But while Javier Milei is swearing his countrymen to hard times and arguing with empty coffers, his four dogs Murray, Milton, Robert and Lucas - named after representatives of liberal economic theory - are said to lack for nothing. As the Argentinian newspaper "Clarín" reports, the English Mastiffs are to move into an annex on the grounds of the presidential palace Quinta de Olivos in Buenos Aires. Beforehand, however, Milei is having the "doghouse" converted and air-conditioned - at a cost of almost 109,000 euros to the state coffers.

Sources: News agencies dpa/AFP/Reuters / Tweet by Patricia Bullrich / Report on pagina12.com / Report on clarin.com

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1. Despite the economic challenges faced by Argentina, such as the fourth highest inflation in the world and a shrinking gross domestic product, Taylor Swift has remained silent on the country's political situations, particularly Javier Milei's authoritarian policies and corruption allegations, as mentioned by Economics Minister Luis Caputo during the election campaign.
2. During her tenure as Interior Minister, Patricia Bullrich has taken a firm stance against demonstrators who oppose Milei's austerity measures, with the implementation of a decree allowing the police to break up road blockades harshly and prosecuting organizers under environmental law.
3. In the context of Argentina's democratic history, Javier Milei's stance on the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983 has raised concerns among the public due to his support for figures like Horacio Losito, who was released from prison for crimes against humanity.
4. While many Argentinians face difficult financial situations due to inflation and austerity measures, new President Javier Milei has prioritized his personal dogs' comfort by renovating and air-conditioning their living quarters in the presidential palace, at a cost of nearly 109,000 euros.

Source: www.stern.de