As Argentina’s maverick libertarian President Javier Milei marks one year in office, his efforts to revive the economy are still a work in progress – but his policies are proving influential in the US. Despite his tough austerity measures and a continued rise in poverty rates, he is still supported by just over half the population, according to a survey carried out earlier this month by the CB Consultora organisation.
Milei came to power with a mission to cut state spending in a country that had been living beyond its means for years. His biggest achievement so far, the one which is most prized by Argentines, is his success in cutting inflation. But he has caused a stir in the US because of his deregulation drive, which has been seized on by small-government activists keen to shrink the size of the state in Washington along the lines of what is happening in Buenos Aires.
In Milei’s initial package of measures, he slashed state subsidies for fuel and cut the number of government ministries by half. Now he is trying to force through plans for a mass sell-off of state-run companies, including the country’s flagship airline Aerolineas Argentinas, which has already been privatised once before being renationalised in 2008.
All this is music to the ears of Elon Musk, who is being tasked with similar cost-cutting initiatives under the banner of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency – a misleading name, since it is an advisory body, not an official government department.
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