Argentina’s Past and Current Troubles
Argentina has been experiencing economic problems for years, with presidents not helping to solve or fix the troubles. Javier Milei, Argentina’s newly elected president, has promised to fix these problems once and for all. There is much controversy as to whether he is fixing them the “correct way” and protests have been steadily rising.
Winning the Election
In the elections, Javier Milei excelled and defeated Sergio Massa with 55.7 percent of the votes appointed towards Milei, the highest percentage since Argentina’s transition to democracy. 14 million people voted for Milei which was the highest amount of votes for one representative ever in Argentine history. Some people would say Milei got a lot of votes because he is popular, but in reality many did not want to vote for Sergio Massa. Massa is known for using tax money to buy goods for his own gain rather than reinvesting it into the economy.
Milei’s Intentions
Milei supports economic liberalization which means that he plans to give people economic freedom to make their own choices. He also criticizes Argentina’s central bank as well as the current taxation policies. He wants to increase the amount of Argentines paying income taxes. To achieve some of his goals, he also hopes to change the currency from pesos to dollars, cut back on public transportation, and shrink the state. Many believe these will be good changes for the economy. However, there are some who oppose him.
Why Are People Protesting?
Milei was protested by a group called the CGT (General Confederation of Labor) for his choice to abolish rent caps. A rent cap is a law that puts a restriction on how much percent a landlord can raise the rent each year. They also protested his removal of government subsidies (a benefit given to someone from the government) on everyday items. Many are saying he is restricting the rights of the working class. A protester says that Milei had forgotten about the poor and even claimed that he was putting her country up “for sale.”
What Does This Mean for Argentina?
Even with the protests, Milei shows no evidence in slowing down with his plans to help the economy. There are many different sides to view Milei’s ideas from and people are ready for change to come to the country’s economy and government.
Works Cited
Al Jazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/changing-course-how-javier-milei-will-transform-argentinas-foreign-policy#:~:text=Radical%20ideas%20for%20revamping%20Argentina’s,to%20rein%20in%20runaway%20inflation.
BBC. www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68085197.
Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Argentine_general_election.
