Argentina's massive turnaround
The government celebrates its first monthly budget surplus since 2012
Photo: Sky News Australia
Greetings Prosperous Souls,
Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, is starting a victory lap. In an unprecedented win, the country’s government has experienced its first monthly budget surplus since 2012. That’s a true accomplishment. QTR finance writes:
Apparently, it took Milei just nine and a half weeks to balance a budget that was projected at 5% of GDP under the previous government. In US terms, he turned a 1.2 trillion-dollar annual deficit into a 400 billion surplus. In 9 and a half weeks.
How did he do it? The chainsaw-wielding firebrand ran on a platform of slashing government programs. Milei “cut a host of central government agency budgets by 50% while slashing crony contracts and activist handouts.”
That’s not to say these cuts aren’t painful. According to Sky News Australia, Milei has laid off 50,000 public employees, stopped the renewal of more than 10,000 contracts, and killed 200,000 irregular social programs. That’s a lot of people who no longer have jobs or access to financial support.
With monthly inflation figures at 20.6% and a poverty level at 57%, Argentina still has a long way to go. But the baby steps are there, and the people seem to be tolerating it. The AP writes:
Jorge Martínez, a 64-year-old painter, is one of those confident that the new government might improve things.
“I have faith in this government. if you don’t have hope — that’s it, we’re dead,” he said. “There is nothing left to do but to endure.”
It seems Argentina is weathering the eye of the storm. The only question is… can the people outlast the aggressive reforms? Or will they revert back to more government control, which brought them here in the first place?
Praying for Argentina,
Cory De Silva
About: Cory De Silva is an American poet, singer/songwriter, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He has released two studio albums, acted in three feature-length films, and published a small book of poetry. He is a graduate of CSU Long Beach, and lives in Northern California with his wife, Colleen, and their son, Bryght.