Milei: Anti-Argentine, servile to the United States

A few days ago, U.S. President Donald Trump invited his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, to meet at the White House, while praising the representative of authoritarian neoliberalism for his willingness to support a Free Trade Agreement between the two nations and maintain the policy of cleaning up "all the bad" from previous governments.

The so-called libertarian has followed all the steps of the Republican president in foreign policy, including support for Israel and the genocide against the Palestinian people, as well as all measures of hatred aimed at harming the governments and peoples of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

During his speech in Congress at the opening of the legislative session, Milei spoke of the "historic opportunity" Argentina has "to establish a trade agreement with the United States," although he clarified that, to close the deal, "it is necessary to be willing to be flexible or even, if necessary, to leave Mercosur."

The aforementioned, who has always been reluctant to keep Argentina in Mercosur, despite now holding the pro tempore presidency of the trade bloc, also argued that each country is free to close trade agreements with whomever it wishes without being subject to the constraints imposed by the regional organization, which requires negotiating as a bloc.

Returning to the initial topic, Trump stated that he is open to signing an agreement with Argentina and described Milei as a "great leader."

"I will consider anything. I think he is a great, great, great leader. He is doing a great job, a fantastic job. He has rescued that country (Argentina) from oblivion. Yes, we will look at the possibilities," Trump told the press at the White House.

Both leaders have publicly expressed their affinity for each other and their policies on several occasions. Milei himself said that his country will also join the policy of reciprocal tariffs proposed by Trump, whose future implementation is currently under study.

Before Congress, he reviewed, according to him, the economic achievements of his government during his first year in office, reaffirmed his commitment to reducing the role of the state, cleaning up public finances, and pursuing the aforementioned free trade agreement with the United States; he emphasized that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is about to be concluded to balance the Central Bank's accounts and ease currency restrictions, and sought parliamentary support for the measure, but the chamber was empty, due to the absence of opposition legislators critical of Milei's liberal economic policy.

So far, so idyllic, because the reality is quite the opposite.

Fierce Dismantling

The Argentine Center for Political Economy (CEPA) reported that public sector personnel decreased by 12.8% between December 2023 and January 2025, with a total of 43,778 fewer positions.

Among the sectors where layoffs were recorded are public companies and state-owned enterprises, followed by decentralized administration and centralized and disoriented administration.

As for companies or entities with the largest staff cuts, the list is headed by Correo Argentino (-4,705), followed by the Customs Revenue and Control Agency (-1,694), Aerolíneas Argentinas (-1,558), AySA (-1,463), CONICET (-1,422), Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (-1,333), ANSeS (-1,272), Desarrollo de Capital Humano Ferroviario (-1,075), Banco Nación (-765), and ENACOM (-719).

In terms of staff reduction relative to the size of their workforce, that is, in percentage terms, Desarrollo de Capital Humano Ferroviario (-99.7%) is in first place, followed by the State Advertising Agency SAU, formerly Télam (-79%), ENARSA Patagonia S.A. (-66.7%), the National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies (-60%), Educar S.E. (-52.7%), the Bonaparte Hospital (-51.7%), INCAA (-47.6%), Contenidos Públicos S.E. (-44.6%), Polo Tecnológico Constituyentes S.A. (-40%), and the National Institute for Tourism Promotion (-39%).

In conclusion, CEPA stated that such dismantling policy "is aligned with the explicit objective of the libertarian administration to reduce the state," and clarifies that "not only in its size," but also in "its regulatory capacities."

Additionally, March brought significant increases in the prices of medicines, electricity, gas, and fuel.

There are increases in the Ecogas and EPEC bills, of 1.6% and 2.05%, respectively. Some users of prepaid medicine will also see increases, and there are expectations that gasoline and diesel will rise between 2% and 3%.

A fuel price hike could be implemented, following the postponement of the update of the Liquid Fuel Tax (ICL) and the Carbon Dioxide Tax (IDC), which the government had decided to delay to curb the impact on its image that an inflationary spike could cause.

Oil companies are asking for an update that considers devaluation and inflation, so gasoline and diesel could increase between 2% and 3%. Rental contracts signed in March 2023 will also suffer an annual increase of 149.34%.

Similarly, the same source indicates that gas bills will see a 1.6% increase.

Destruction

The truth is Milei is at his worst since he took power, with a series of scandals ranging from accusations of cryptocurrency fraud to unconstitutional appointments to the Supreme Court. The president faces growing social discontent and a loss of political legitimacy, while he is far from fulfilling his campaign promises and has led the country to a situation of unprecedented instability.

One of the most serious scandals is the case of the Libra cryptocurrency, promoted by Milei himself. Laborde explains that this initiative ended in a massive scam that affected hundreds of thousands of people. It was proven that it was not an innocent promotion; there were signed contracts and associations that directly benefited him, but knowing the corruption that permeates the judiciary, I do not think justice will be served.

In addition to the cryptocurrency scandal, Milei is accused of violating the Constitution by appointing two Supreme Court justices by decree, without Congressional approval, with the aim of guaranteeing impunity if the judicial cases related to the cryptocurrency reach the Court.

Social discontent has not been long in coming. On February 1, a massive anti-fascist march brought together 800,000 people in the streets of Buenos Aires, in one of the largest mobilizations in recent years. Additionally, as expected, on March 8, International Women's Day, a large march against hunger and fascism took place, and it is expected that on March 24, the anniversary of the 1976 military coup, new mass protests will express rejection of Milei's policies, which include cuts to labor and social rights.

Milei is also criticized for his attempt to rewrite Argentina's recent history, trying to justify the military dictatorship as if it had been a war. This historical revisionism, coupled with his neoliberal economic policy, has generated strong rejection in broad sectors of society.

His alignment with the United States and his confrontational style, similar to that of Donald Trump, have not managed to consolidate a favorable image. He lies shamelessly and tries to cover one scandal with another.

Authoritarian Neoliberalism

However, this strategy seems to be reaching its limit. Lies have a limit, and the support he received at the beginning of his government is running out, which, sooner rather than later, will lead him to a clash with a reality that will cause serious governance problems.

Authoritarianism is inherent to the ultra-capitalist model defended by Javier Milei, and therefore it is incompatible with any idea of popular sovereignty. It is an attack against the forms of the state and the institutions that condense social commitments and democratic pacts won by popular struggles.

The government of Javier Milei in Argentina is an unprecedented experiment of the international far-right. While there are points of contact with Brazil under Bolsonaro's government and the United States under Trump, the Argentine case differs from all previous ones, among other things, for its disdain for anything that smells of national sovereignty. On the contrary, in its international relations, the absolute center is located in the United States, and its relations with that country seem to be dictated by the mandate of being "more Catholic than the Pope." In his government, the drop in inflation, which could resurface at any moment, has been achieved by slashing wages, layoffs, mistreatment of retirees, the elimination of soup kitchens for the poorest, and the abandonment of children.

We cannot be overly optimistic. Discontent with previous governments brought Milei to power with support that, despite the misfortunes, remains significant, even among the most disadvantaged popular sectors. How far he can go before encountering more organized resistance is, for now, an unknown.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff