Javier Milei on Economy

Javier Milei’s core economic position centers on drastically reducing the role of the state to reverse Argentina’s long-standing economic decline, viewing state intervention as the primary cause of its woes. His administration immediately focused on achieving a fiscal surplus through aggressive real spending cuts, which has been credited with bringing down year-on-year inflation from nearly 300% to around 2% monthly in early 2025. Key evidence of this reversal includes posting a fiscal surplus in 2024 after a massive deficit the prior year and significant declines in both poverty and monthly inflation rates compared to when he took office in December 2023. Furthermore, he has aggressively pursued a deregulation push to unshackle domestic demand and encourage investment, notably by repealing rent control, which led to a sharp surge in housing supply.

This economic shock therapy, while painful initially, is framed as necessary for long-term stability and growth, with his party securing momentum in midterm elections to push for further structural reforms. Future legislative goals mentioned include privatizing state-owned enterprises and overhauling pension and labor codes to create a more flexible business environment. While he has promoted measures like freezing money supply growth and tying the peso to the US dollar initially, the long-term goal of dollarization remains a key, though currently unfinished, element of his economic agenda to permanently secure monetary stability and restore confidence.