Indifferent to the dangers of the Middle East, and to distance himself from the bad political and economic news that reaches his ears, Javier Milei decided to spend this weekend in Israel. He has been invited with honors and for considering himself “the most Zionist president in the world.” Before starting his third trip to that country since coming to power, the anarcho-capitalist asked “thank the creator” for “having leaders like Binyamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump”. The Argentines, however, paid attention to another phrase of his with disturbing resonances. “If they don’t accompany us, nothing happens, we can all go back to work in the private sector.” The release at a meeting of businessmen was related to a present full of uncertainty that has seriously called into question his electoral possibilities in 2027. The defeat at the polls of his friend Viktor Orban, after 16 years in power, even led several analysts to wonder if a similar fate awaits the former talk show host.
Milei won the November 2023 elections and held his own even in the midst of all kinds of storms, not only because of Trump’s support but also because of his promise to completely defeat the inflation. But that goal is being called into question after March cost of living will jump to 3.4%, while annual predictions threaten to break the 30% barrier. The adjustment in the state sector, the suspension of public works, the lack of financing for health, science and education, the reduction of pensions, social assistance and transportation subsidies, and, above all, the staunch defense of a cheap dollar that has caused a strong recession, were not enough for the Government to achieve the stability predicted. In 2015, Cristina Kirchner He left the presidency with inflation of 25%. Now Milei will exceed that number considered at the time one of the reasons for the defeat of Kirchnerism.
“Politicians when they receive bad information, usually feign insanity or talk about anything else. What’s more, we would have a lot of very good things to talk about, but I am Milei and I hate the traditional political way of doing things. Since I hate inflation, and since I did not like the data and it disgusts me, I am going to talk about inflation,” said the far-right and communicated his decision of a new adjustment on the adjustment. “Inflation going forward is going to collapse and the economy is going to resume the strong path of growth prior to the attack of politics.”
On his Instagram account he accompanied that determination to continue down the same path with a cartoon made with artificial intelligence. Milei is a footballer, a new Leo Messi. Wear the jersey of the soccer team. His body is that of a bodybuilder. “What planet did you come from,” says the narrator of an imaginary party against populism. “The greatest of all time and the world applauds us,” he adds and Trump is seen. The comments on the social network were, however, lapidary. Flattery is no longer abundant. “Get to work.” “That’s how he rules, he thinks he’s in a comic.” “How strange that they didn’t put him in diapers.” “Shame is not enough.” “Hey, Javier, I can’t make ends meet, you could stop playing with the AI and look at what the hell you’re doing with the country.”
The numbers of bad social mood
Contrary to self-indulgence, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec) has just stated that 60% of Argentines earn less than one million pesos per month (620 euros) but a family of four needed 876 euros in March to not be poor. The crisis is palpable in the daily closure of companies and the contraction of consumption. Almost half of citizens use credit cards to buy food in installments in supermarkets. 60% of adults have incurred debt. “Almost six out of ten people tell you that they don’t make it to the 20th of the month”said Claudio Montiel, director of the consulting firm Centrix. Treasury revenue has been falling for eight months.
According to Projection Consultants, and73.7% of those interviewed affirm that their family economic situation has worsened in recent months. The bad mood finds its main basis in economic problems, but is aggravated by reports of acts of corruption that splash the Milei brothers in the ‘cryptogate’, the former presidential lawyer Diego Spagnolo for the scandal of the overpricing of medicines in the National Agency for Disability (Andis) and, in addition, the suspicion of undue enrichment of the head of ministers Manuel Adorni. “Bad news does not cover up bad news. It enhances it,” said Carlos Pagni, columnist for the newspaper The Nation.
After the parliamentary elections in October in which the extreme right obtained 40% of the votes and control of Congress was guaranteed, Milei’s re-election was taken for granted by numerous pollsters. Opinions have changed. Although the anarcho-capitalist hopes to turn the situation around again, as on other occasions when he seemed to be close to the abyss, at the moment the polls are not encouraging. The Political Satisfaction and Public Opinion Survey (ESPOP) of the University of San Andrés (UdeSA), has just reported that the president has a disapproval of 59% and only 33% of those consulted are satisfied with the general progress of the country. For QMonitor, ldisapproval is 53%, while Zuban Córdoba places it at 65%. In the case of the consulting firm Giacobbe & Asociado, which generally gave good news to the Government, the negative image of Milei is 55.6%. 31.3% of people consider the current administration to be the most corrupt since 1983, when democracy was recovered.
It is in this context that the president’s phrase that “no problem” if he stops being accompanied because he returns to the “private sector”, which, Milei also said, will allow him to charge half a million dollars for each conference. He continues to perceive himself as a global celebrity. According to the portal Online Politics It was not “an accident” that at that same business meeting the attendees began to outline in a low voice that perhaps the anarcho-capitalist cycle is close to ending and the name of the right-wing senator is beginning to come up among them. Patricia Bullrich as a relief figure.
Subscribe to continue reading
