“EXTREMELY POSITIVE.” In capital letters, Javier Milei responds to a question about his own assessment of his first 100 days in office as president. For the head of state, there are no grey areas: he lists all the assets and leaves no room for defeats, because he seeks to immediately transform them into victories.
On Tuesday, President Milei will have been at the helm of the Executive branch for 100 days and from the Casa Rosada, he continues to defy the odds – and traditional politics. One expectation was that March would be the month in which the libertarian would reach a turning point with citizens, who would not be able to take any more austerity. Nowadays, Milei smiles and answers that, to the contrary, Argentines have hope. He cites surveys showing the crisis society is going through, but he focuses on the expectations generated by his government.
“We know people are doing badly,” said Milei last week. According to the head of state himself, 70 percent of those surveyed say that their economic situation has got worse over the last few months. Yet the president and his main advisor, Santiago Caputo, boast of being able to read the mood of Argentines like nobody else: the important thing is what they think about the future – 47 percent answered that their situation will get better. “Nearly half of all Argentines see light at the end of the tunnel,” declares the libertarian leader.
These numbers come from the analysis of several surveys. At the Casa Rosada, they cite findings from polls by Opina Argentina, Casa Tres and CB Consultores. “It’s clear that the situation is bad, but numbers show confidence and expectation. In addition, the image of the president is still good, despite the adjustment, which shows that most people understand the need for it,” sources close to the president said.
Milei does not talk about the evaporation of salaries and pensions, but he does mention the budget surplus and zero deficit he achieved thanks to cutting back on funds. He wastes no time in giving a detailed account of why his reign has been “EXTREMELY POSITIVE.”
“In economic terms, we avoided hyperinflation, inflation is going down, we achieved zero deficit at the Treasury, we reduced the quasi-fiscal deficit by 60 percent, we’ve bought US$10.5 billion [in reserves], we’re cleaning up the Central Bank, the [exchange rate] gap is gone, the country risk fell by 1,200 points, bonds went up by US$30, shares have climbed and dollar futures are in line with the Central Bank’s foreign exchange policy,” he declared.
Milei himself acknowledged that March and April will be “very complicated” months. Perhaps for that reason, Santiago Caputo has claimed that the opposition “has two months to destroy us.” If they do not, the government will survive in order to “go deeper against the caste.”
So far, the La Libertad Avanza leader had managed to defy the main political analyses which caution outsiders that upon reaching power, and once in the presidency, parties still matter. They even have different examples showing that without legislators answering to the head of state, survival is difficult.
Milei experienced this hindrance and suffered two main defeats in his first months in the Executive Branch: the fall of the ‘Omnibus law’ in the lower house Chamber of Deputies and the rejection of the mega Emergency Decree in the Senate. He does not accept defeat and claims now that it was a learning experience. “We have left the entire political class exposed, thus prompting a reordering of the entire ideological spectrum,” he says confidently.
According to the head of state, there were traitors. He divides the political class into three groups: orcs (Peronism and the left wing that reject his policies); liars who claim to be in favour of change but then are subservient to the first group (some Radicals, Coalición Cívica and certain forces outside Buenos Aires); and those on the side of the “forces of heaven” who stand by his administration (libertarians and most of the PRO).
However, Milei understands that negotiation (a word that until a few weeks ago he rejected) is now necessary. For that reason, his reaction to the rejection of the Emergency Decree was not the same as with the omnibus law: there were no fingers pointed at any particular governor and he took care not to aim at the whole Radical party. For a few weeks now, the head of state has given his party’s political wing more room for manoeuvre without obstructing dialogue.
And what about Vice-President Victoria Villarruel? Milei himself, who is quick to fire on social networks, took care not to like or reply to any of the accounts who attacked the veep after she called a session that already portended failure for the ruling party. Someone who did insult the head of the Senate in every possible way was Santiago Caputo – when he does mention her, he does so sarcastically, calling her her “vicepresidenta” ("female vice-president," in Spanish), something she has asked people not to do.
The Peronist opposition also understands that the timeframe given by voters to President Milei are a lot laxer than the requirements they themselves faced. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was quick to say that even the president has far too much support for the speed of his administration and Sergio Massa is delaying his political return. “Just so Peronism doesn’t return, people are willing to eat dirt,” the former presidential candidate said.
Meanwhile, Axel Kicillof evades attacks and tries not to use adjectives or answer back with insults. The Buenos Aires Province governor is one of the political enemies most cited by Milei (on Sunday, he called for a fiscal rebellion against him). “We have to ignore him,” they answer from Kiciloff’s circle, while seeking a way to raise fresh funds (some are already being unblocked).
In the meantime, Milei claims that the traditional political class is failing to interpret citizens correctly and he has an edge in that respect. He explained that he has direct contact with them, despite having a public agenda reduced to the fullest extent. How does he do it? Through social networks. That is why, even if people closely count the minutes he spends on there every day, he will not stop using the apps he manages himself.
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