Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner warned on Friday of “a lethal combo” of recession and debt in an open letter published on social media that riled President Javier Milei.
Responding to the ex-president’s post, Milei responded with a provocative invitation to give her “a private lesson” in economics.
“I know that you don't understand much about economics, as demonstrated by the fact that you surrounded yourself with anumerical illiterates who destroyed the country with their economic shamanism,” Milei snapped back on social media.
Fernández de Kirchner kicked off the row by publishing a lengthy letter on X criticising the current economic climate.
The moderation of inflation – which has dropped from 20.6 percent in January to four percent in July – which “Milei and his ineffable economy minister [Luis Caputo] would have us believe is a success, is a real social tragedy, taking place in the context of a deep economic recession,’ said Fernández de Kirchner said, referencing recession and a massive fall in consumption.
Argentina's GDP plummeted 5.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, with falls of more than 30 per cent recorded in sectors of industry and construction.
“This tragedy is already undeniable. From the rapid increase in unemployment to [the] more than one million children who go to bed every night without a plate of food,” Fernández de Kirchner said, citing a recent UNICEF study.
The Observatorio de la Deuda Social Argentina of the Catholic University of Argentina estimates that poverty affected 55 percent of the population in the first half of the year – the highest figure seen in 20 years.
“Don't get so nervous, you'll like my class,” Milei replied on X, after Fernández de Kirchner recalled Milei's past as a television columnist before launching a political career.
“Talking about economics by saying anything on TV sets or writing plagiarising books is one thing. Governing Argentina is quite another. And the way Argentines are living shows that you don't have a clue,” responded Fernández de Kirchner.
“As for governing, if the model is yours, I'll pass. I came to rescue the country and not to sink it, CIAO,” wrote Milei.
“You are wasting your time on the networks. Get off Twitter and get on with running the state, because Argentines are having a very, very bad time. FIN’, closed the former president.
– TIMES/AFP
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