Argentina rejects parts of a draft final G20 summit declaration but will not stand in the way of it being signed and adopted, President Javier Milei’s office said on Monday.
In a statement voicing fierce criticism of the G20 and other multilateral organisations, Milei’s office indicated its dissent with the communiqué drawn up by world governments.
The criticisms included proposals to regulate social media content, reform global bodies and "especially the idea" of stepped-up state intervention to combat hunger.
Milei’s government said it signed the presidential declaration while “partially dissociating itself from all the content linked to” the United Nations “2030 Agenda” of sustainable development goals.
"Without blocking the declaration of the other leaders, President Javier Milei has made clear... he will not give support to several points in the declaration," read the statement.
“International organisations and forums such as the G20 were created in the spirit that all the nations involved could come together to cooperate voluntarily, as equals and autonomously, to, among other things, safeguard the basic rights of people,” it continues.
“However, today, almost 70 years after the inauguration of this system of international cooperation, the time has come to recognise that this model is in crisis, because it has long been at odds with its original purpose,” it added.
Voicing Milei’s oft-criticism of slimming down the size of government and deregulating business, the communiqué called for anti-hunger efforts to be led by a golden rule: getting government out of the way.
“Every time attempts were made to combat hunger and poverty with measures that increased the presence of the state in the economy, the result was an exodus of both people and capital, as well as millions of deaths of human lives.
“In the fight against these scourges, President Javier Milei has a clear position: if we want to fight hunger and eradicate poverty, the solution is to get the state out of the way,” it concluded.
The statement continued with calls for economic deregulation and trade, declaring that “it is the voluntary exchange of goods and services that brings prosperity.”
The President closed by calling on world leaders to embrace free-market capitalism and follow his path in Argentina, which he claimed is “already bearing fruit.”
Spoiler-in-chief
Argentina's position highlighted Milei's perceived role as spoiler at the G20 summit bringing together leaders of the world's biggest economies in Rio for a summit running Monday and Tuesday.
It also deepened a rift evident between Milei – a right-wing leader who has employed radical austerity at home to bring down inflation and who is a super-fan of US president-elect Donald Trump – and G20 host, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Lula, a left-wing president who launched a global alliance against hunger as he opened the gathering, was visibly cooler towards Milei when he welcomed leaders to the summit.
As host, Brazil has had to try to find common ground between very different G20 member countries – including the United States, China and Russia – while still projecting some sense of international cooperation.
Lula's anti-hunger alliance won the backing of all G20 member countries – including, after much last-minute negotiation, Argentina.
Milei has cast himself as a political figure in the same mould as Trump. He also hews to a free-speech absolutist position shared with Trump's billionaire adviser Elon Musk, boss of Tesla and owner of the social media network X.
Milei also prioritises economic development over environmental conservation. Last week, Milei's government pulled its delegation out of UN climate talks taking place in Azerbaijan.
His office's statement spoke of the system of international cooperation being in crisis.
Milei was the first world leader to see Trump after the Republican's election victory, at a gala last week at the President-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The La Libertad Avanza leader has previously called Lula a "communist" and "corrupt".
Lula, in turn, has used the G20 to rail against "neoliberalism", which he blames for economic hardship and a weakening of democracies.
Austerity
Milei has applied a drastic austerity programme since taking office last December in a bid to erase Argentina’s budget deficit and tame runaway inflation, which slowed to a monthly 2.7 percent last month.
He has implemented tough economic adjustments, including cuts in energy and transport subsidies and thousands of public sector jobs.
Milei’s policies have produced Argentina's first budget surplus in 15 years but have also been blamed for plunging the country into a deep recession and driving the proportion of Argentines living in poverty.
Government data from the first half of 2024 showed that poverty rose 11 points to 52.9 percent.
– TIMES/NA/AFP
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