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Javier Milei's plan to save Argentina: Full interview
Six months into his first term in office, Javier Milei isn't afraid to be blunt about how he plans to save the country's economy. The staunchly libertarian Argentine President swept into office easily on an unconventional slogan: "There's no money." As he tells Ian Bremmer, he’s spending nearly every waking hour trying to reverse decades of misgovernance and economic mismanagement. And so far, most international experts agree: it seems to be working.
When he ran for office, the economics professor-turned-TV pundit-turned-presidential-candidate vowed to eliminate Argentina’s central bank and threatened to replace the Argentine peso with the American dollar. But once Milei came to office, a more pragmatic approach to economic reform emerged. And in just six months, his administration has managed to slow Argentina's 300% annual inflation and turn a budget deficit into a surplus. "We have actually completed the largest reform in the history of Argentina," he proudly tells Bremmer in an exclusive new interview for GZERO World, highlighting the scale of his efforts to overturn what he calls "100 years of decadence."
In this wide-ranging conversation, Milei lays out his “shock therapy” approach to reversing Argentina’s economic missteps, his democracy vs autocracy geopolitical outlook, and his thoughts on China and Israel. The coming years will tell if the fiery new president’s idiosyncrasies may just end up being some of the least noteworthy things about him.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube and on our website. Don’t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Ian Explains: What's so radical about Argentina's new president (besides his cloned dogs)?
Argentina's new libertarian president, Javier Milei, is not like other Argentine presidents. He's not like anyone else, for that matter. But it's not his penchant for dressing up as a superhero and singing about fiscal policy that sets him apart. Nor is it his cloned dogs or bombastic approach to politics. Six months into his first year in office, it's his radical plan to save Argentina's economy that's truly radical. And here's the thing...so far it seems to be working.
Despite living in one of the largest and most resource-rich nations in Latin America, the average Argentine has endured one economic calamity after another. Milei has vowed to put an end to what he refers to as "100 years of decadence. But can he pull it off?
The self-proclaimed tantric sex guru with a mop of unruly black hair that he claims the invisible hand of the free market keeps in place campaigned for president last year by promising to take a chainsaw literally to government spending and to eliminate Argentina's Central Bank. He also derided climate change as a socialist conspiracy. He called the Argentine compatriot Pope Francis a "leftist S.O.B." He's known universally in Argentina as El Loco or the madman. And then back in November, he won the election in a landslide.
When he won, many experts expected that Milei's self-styled, anarcho-capitalism would be the death knell for an economy already in free fall. But after taking office in December, Argentina's 300% annual inflation slowed for five months in a row. His government did this by turning the 5.5% budget deficit that it inherited into the country's first surplus in over a decade. And all without destabilizing their currency and their financial markets.
But while Milei's shock therapy has been successful at balancing the budget and slowing inflation, the fiscal and monetary austerity has caused a deep recession, with economic activity shrinking almost 10% year-on-year back in March, unemployment rising, real salaries in Argentina hitting their lowest points since 2003. Mass protests against budget cuts to public universities back in June drew more than 400,000 people to the streets.
Can Milei save Argentina's economy before he destroys it?
Watch Ian's exclusive interview with Javier Milei on the full episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airing nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: Subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Argentina's Milei shares strong views on China and Israel
In an exclusive interview with Ian Bremmer for the latest episode of GZERO World, Milei defines his approach to foreign policy as one of democracies vs autocracies. And he makes clear that Argentina will always side with democracies. But how does he square that vow with the reality that Chinese trade is a critical part of Argentina's (not to mention Latin America's) economy? He answers by pointing to his staunch libertarian beliefs, and his desire to stay out of the free market's way. "If I were to limit that trade, which is free, would Argentines be better off or worse off?"
Milei also makes clear that his staunch support for Israel is a defining aspect of his foreign policy approach. When Bremmer asks him about the Gaza war, his answer is simple and unwavering. "I will continue to support Israel right to the end."
Watch the full interview on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airing nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube and on our website. Don’t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Can Milei save Argentina's economy using "shock therapy"?
In an exclusive interview with Ian Bremmer for the latest episode of GZERO World, President Javier Milei acknowledges the severe economic crisis gripping Argentina. "Life is going to be harder for the average Argentinian citizen," he admits, underlining the difficult path ahead. Milei argues that his approach centers on transparency, a stark contrast to previous administrations. "Our approach was to always tell people the truth and to actually tell it like it is, saying that it wasn't going to be easy," he explains, emphasizing the need for honesty in these trying times.
As Milei puts it to Bremmer, his administration inherited a dire economic situation, with a staggering 17% double deficit in GDP and annual inflation soaring to an unimaginable 17,000%. "The solution inevitably had to be 'shock therapy,'" Milei states. He points out that incremental approaches have historically failed in Argentina, making shock therapy the only viable option. Despite the harshness of these measures, Milei believes they are crucial for long-term stability and growth.
Watch the full interview on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airing nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube and on our website. Don’t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
- Chainsaw cuts path to new Argentina-IMF deal ›
- Argentina's President Javier Milei wants his nation "on the side of liberal democracies" ›
- Milei makes fiery Davos debut ›
- The masses test Milei with major protest ›
- How Javier Milei is turning Argentina's economy around ›
- Is Milei moderating? Argentina’s president-elect takes power ›
- Who the heck is Javier Milei? ›
- Javier Milei's plan to save Argentina: Full interview - GZERO Media ›
Argentina's radical new president, Javier Milei (Exclusive interview)
In an exclusive interview with Ian Bremmer for the latest episode of GZERO World, Argentine President Javier Milei defends his radical approach to saving Argentina’s struggling economy, his commitment to aligning with liberal democracies, and his pragmatic stance on international trade and alliances.
There's no getting around it: Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, is an odd duck. But beyond his penchant for cloned dogs, messy hair, and bombast, what’s truly radical about the South American leader is his plan to save Argentina’s economy. When he ran for office, the economics professor-turned-TV pundit-turned-presidential-candidate vowed to eliminate Argentina’s central bank and threatened to replace the Argentine peso with the American dollar. But once he came to office, a more pragmatic approach to economic reform emerged. And in just six months, his administration has managed to slow Argentina's 300% annual inflation and turn a budget deficit into a surplus. "We have actually completed the largest reform in the history of Argentina," he proudly tells Ian Bremmer in an exclusive new interview for GZERO World, highlighting the scale of his efforts to overturn what he calls "100 years of decadence."
(Note: Turn on closed captions for translation from Spanish to English or your preferred language.)
Milei's libertarian economic policies, although effective in some respects, have also led to significant hardships. "Life is going to be harder for the average Argentinian citizen," he acknowledges. Despite these challenges, Milei's popularity remains high, attributed to his honesty and transparency with the public.
In a wide-ranging interview with Bremmer, Milei also explains that his approach to foreign policy is marked by a mix of ideological commitment and pragmatic flexibility. He champions free trade and economic liberalization while acknowledging the complexities of dealing with autocratic regimes. "The world should be separated between liberal democracies and autocracies," Milei asserts. Yet, he does not shy away from engaging with China, recognizing the economic benefits such relationships can bring. "If I were to limit that trade, which is free, would Argentines be better off or worse off?" he asks Bremmer, advocating for a balanced approach that prioritizes Argentina's well-being.
Milei's staunch support for Israel is another defining aspect of his foreign policy. When Ian asks him about the Gaza war, his answer is simple and unwavering. "I will continue to support Israel right to the end."
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Argentina's President Javier Milei wants his nation "on the side of liberal democracies"
In the latest episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with the new firebrand president of Argentina, Javier Milei. Milei may be best known outside of Argentina for his flair for the dramatic, whether it be cloning his dogs, calling the pope an SOB, or dressing up as a superhero to sing about fiscal policy.
But when it comes to trade and geopolitics, don’t let the fanfare fool you. Milei is clear-eyed. He plans to reverse “100 years of decadence” — which he blames on Argentina’s various leftist governments of the past — by forging an open and free trade policy.
“Trade is a prosperity machine, and we should seek every possible way to open up more markets and to open up more vis-a-vis the rest of the world,” he says.
But what might be even more striking for the flamboyant leader is his sober geopolitical outlook and his determination to keep Argentina on the side of Western democracies.
“The key point here is not just about the benefits to be gained from free trade,” Milei tells Bremmer, “but it's also a significant geopolitical matter about making sure we are on the right side of history, which is the side of liberal democracies, and not on the side of autocrats.”
Milei also cautions other nations to learn from Argentina’s missteps. “I recommend to everyone NOT to follow in Argentina's footsteps,” Milei asserts, highlighting Argentina’s drastic fall from wealth due to socialist policies. His message is clear: Argentina’s experience is a cautionary tale, underscoring the perils of forsaking economic freedom and democratic principles.
Watch the full interview on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airing nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube and on our website. Don’t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
- Milei makes fiery Davos debut ›
- The masses test Milei with major protest ›
- How Javier Milei is turning Argentina's economy around ›
- Is Milei moderating? Argentina’s president-elect takes power ›
- Who the heck is Javier Milei? ›
- Ian Explains: What's so radical about Argentina's new president (besides his cloned dogs)? - GZERO Media ›
- Argentina's radical new president, Javier Milei (Exclusive interview) - GZERO Media ›
- Javier Milei's plan to save Argentina: Full interview - GZERO Media ›
Milei is beating the odds. Will it last?
What happens when a country with triple-digit inflation and chronic fiscal deficits elects a chainsaw-wielding populist with a dead dog for chief counsel as president?
Back in November, following the unexpected triumph of the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei in Argentina’s presidential election, I expected the economy would further collapse in short order.
Thankfully for the people of Argentina, that didn’t happen. In fact, since taking office in December, President Milei’s economic team has seemingly achieved what I (along with most political analysts and economists) thought impossible: Monthly inflation has come down every month for the past three months, from 25% in December to nearly 10% in March, with forecasters expecting the April figure to come in at single digits. The government did this by turning the 5.5% budget deficit it inherited into the country’s first surplus in over a decade, while boosting the central bank’s reserves, lowering its benchmark interest rates, and reducing the money supply – all without destabilizing currency and financial markets.
That’s not to say average Argentines are having a good time (more on this below). But this is a big deal nonetheless, and it’s one that I’m very happy to have been wrong about – just as I’ll be happy if I’m wrong about Ukraine eventually getting partitioned (although I’ll take the under on that).
Why didn’t the economy collapse?
One key reason is that President Milei turned out to be significantly more sensible and moderate than candidate Milei, to most everyone’s surprise.
Unlike Argentina’s last several administrations, which were known quantities to anyone who covered the country, Milei and his inner circle were completely untested outsiders with a reputation for intransigence and ideological dogmatism. Absent a better first-hand assessment of him and the people surrounding him, I was more willing to take his campaign promises and stated views at face value than I would have otherwise. And let me tell you, some of those were … pretty out there.
Upon taking office, however, Milei proved himself more willing to listen, engage, and compromise than I expected. Despite his combative rhetoric, the most institutionally weak president in modern Argentine history – with little support in Congress and among governors – went back on his promise never to negotiate with the so-called “political caste.” He quickly backed off the most outlandish/ambitious (depending on who you ask) libertarian economic policies he and his original advisors had run on – at least for now. The most notable of these were dollarization (aka replacing the peso with the greenback as the local currency), abolishing the central bank, and lifting currency controls, which if implemented on day 1 as pledged would have caused the sharp and immediate crisis that I predicted.
Instead, Milei appointed a strongly pragmatic economic team that has been well-received both by markets and the IMF – two essential players in Argentina’s economic stabilization. Led by the experienced ex-banker Luis Caputo, whom former president Mauricio Macrinicknamed “the Messi of finance,” the government embarked on a sweeping shock therapy agenda consisting of a 54% devaluation and draconian fiscal and monetary tightening. Wisely (but contrary to economic orthodoxy and Milei’s campaign rhetoric), they decided to keep currency and capital controls in place to prevent a disorderly run on the peso from wreaking havoc on markets. The gamble has paid off thus far, with investors, businesses, and the IMF all welcoming Milei’s steps with open arms.
Can it last?
While shock therapy has been successful at balancing the budget and slowing inflation, it has come at a great social cost. The fiscal and monetary austerity has caused a deep recession, with economic activity shrinking more than 10% year-on-year in March, unemployment rising, and real salaries hitting their lowest point since 2003. The government is hopeful that all the sacrifice will soon give way to a V-shaped recovery as output expands in the second quarter thanks to agricultural exports. However, most economists are skeptical, and it’s unclear how much more pain Argentines will be willing to take before they turn on the president’s policies.
Caputo’s original deficit reduction plan envisioned a mix of 60% spending cuts and 40% tax increases. That plan, however, was blocked by Congress earlier this year, leaving the government with no choice but to rely on unpopular spending cuts for the bulk of it. While Argentina's public sector is without a doubt excessively bloated and in need of a good trim, many of the real-term cuts (referred to as “blending” in Argentina) to social spending that the Milei administration is banking on to balance the budget are regressive, recessionary, and therefore socially and politically unsustainable.
Mass protests against budget cuts to public universities two weeks ago drew more than 400,000 people, and labor unions called for a nationwide general strike tomorrow. Public discontent can only intensify as the austerity measures cut deeper, further undermining the president’s ability to pass legislation and limiting his room to maneuver. With the president’s approval ratings starting to trend down (albeit from honeymoon-level highs) and opposition to his policies mounting both on the streets and in Congress, this is the greatest risk to Milei’s plan.
Will Milei and Argentines have what it takes to stick with the treatment until the patient is cured? Or will they let this painful fiscal adjustment and recession go to waste even though their best chance for success in decades could be right around the corner?
As a fan of Argentina (and, you know, people in general), I know what I’m hoping for. But as they say, hope is not a strategy.
How Javier Milei is turning Argentina's economy around
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi, everybody. Ian Bremmer here and a Quick Take to kick off your week. And today, I want to take us to Argentina, where newly elected President Javier Milei deserves a round of applause, at least for where we see the country so far in his administration.
We've had a first budget surplus that Argentina has enjoyed in over a decade. And monthly inflation, which has been significant highs and impossible for the people, is actually slowing down. Now, that's a really big deal. After several administrations in Argentina doing their damnedest to destroy the economy, Milei is turning the place around. He's succeeding. And by the way, this was not what I expected when the elections were happening. When he was first elected, I wrote, “expect more economic collapse imminently. ” And clearly that didn't happen. And that's a great thing. for the Argentinean people. I'm happy to be wrong about this. And by the way, I'll be very happy if I could be wrong about Ukraine getting partition, that seems like a tougher one. But nonetheless, what happened and why has he been more successful than I expected? It's worth thinking about.
Well, first of all, what the challenges were. Milei’s party has a thin minority in Congress, so he's had to use presidential decrees to push most of his ambitious economic reforms. He's the weakest president in institutional terms that Argentina has had in modern times. So he's swimming against a really strong current. And the Peronists who control a lot of power in Congress and among mayors and governors and the trade unions. I mean, these are people that would love to see Milei fail. So, first of all, my expectation was that no matter how smart well-thought through his economic policies were likely to be, the desire of the kleptocracy that's been in place for such a long time in having this guy fail and come back to power themselves, would be so strong that he wouldn't have any chance to get anything through.
In other words, they wouldn't be willing to compromise. Now they have shown themselves willing to compromise. And some of this is if you leave Cristina Kirchner out, who's really kind of volatile and horrible, polemic as a governor and corrupt as someone running the country, a lot of the peronists are really happy to see essential things happen in the economy that they don't have to take responsibility for. In other words, it's on Milei. It's not on them. And so there's a willingness to provide some compromise, even though that's going to mean smaller budgets, more austerity, that they're not going to get as much. They're willing to give him a little more rope than I expected before he became president. That's interesting. That's absolutely worth paying attention to. The difference between the Kirchner's and her inner circle and the Peronists that have been running the country to ruin for a long time.
Second point though, is that Milei himself has been much more of a thoughtful leader in terms of economic policy and his willingness to back down from eccentric and overdone claims than I had expected when he first became president. Now look, unlike Argentina's last several administrations where they were pretty well known to anyone that covered the country and I've traveled there and got to know the cabinets and met with the presidents and all of that. In this case, you had a complete outsider. I had no idea who was around Milei and a lot of what was being said about him was a little bit out there, like for not just the fact that he wanted to go after the leftist libtards, but I mean, the fact that he had cloned dogs and that, you know, claimed to actually, talk with one of them that died from beyond the grave. And, I mean, a lot of the comments that he made were beyond eccentric.
Having said that, there was also a lot of media coverage of Milei that really didn't like him because he was a right-wing libertarian, and also because he aligned himself with Trump and said nice things with the former president. And then of course, goes and does immediate interview with Tucker Carlson, who was a spreader of disinformation and a bomb thrower, not exactly someone you can trust, but that, of course, meant that ideologically, a lot of people that were covering him were not covering him honestly. They were knee jerk reacting to, this guy is going to be an idiot. And frankly, you know, absent an understanding of the people around him, I was more willing to go along with that.
Well, it became fairly clear once he was in as president that his initial appointments were better than that. I sat down with his foreign minister to dinner back in January and was pretty impressed with her both individually, as a very competent, engaging and smart person on policy, but also in the way that she described, which struck me as very honest, her relationship and conversations with the president.
I heard from many people from different countries, developed countries around the IMF that his appointment of the former president Macri's economic advisor to the IMF board was extremely well received. This was someone that was really well respected across the markets and meant that the IMF negotiations were likely to go quite well, and that the meetings that Milei had with Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, were very strong.
They were very engaged and he was willing to listen on issues of what the Argentinian government needed to do economically, which has led to a very constructive bilateral relationship between them, utterly essential given what Argentina's economic situation looks like right now. So all of that has been very positive. Now, having said that, there's no question that this cost of writing the Argentinian economy, has meant a fall in real incomes, leading to a slowdown in consumption and economic growth and a downturn in living standards and an increase in poverty.
That is happening. It's going to get worse. And government approval for now, given everything I've been saying, is actually surprisingly sticky and strong, especially if we look at Argentina standards historically. Will he be able to continue this? There's no question, it is a very high bar, and that high bar is not only because that Peronist opposition is still there, and they don't want him to be seen as a historic success, but also because economically, this would be hard for just about anybody.
But there's no question that for his first several months in government, this guy deserves respect for what he's been able to actually accomplish. And a final point is, you know, I don't think we should have such a problem with being wrong. And you only have a real problem with being wrong if you are so ideologically attached to what you were saying to begin with. And if it's just a question of analysis and you made a mistake in your analysis, you go back, you get the analysis right and you change your mind, and that's fine. Also, sometimes the world changes and so you change your mind.
But, you know, if the fact is that the analysis is wrong and it's not like I have a problem with Milei doing well, I would love him to do well. I would love the Argentinean people to succeed, and to get out of the corruption and the devastatingly poor economic policies that they've experienced for decades now. This is a country, anyone that spends time there knows incredible education, very, very beautiful and fertile land and a place that you just want to spend time. And they have been run into the ground by poor governments, a series of poor governments. And if Milei is the guy that turns that around, he has nothing but support from me.
That's all for me. And I'll talk to you all real soon.
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- Ian Explains: What's so radical about Argentina's new president (besides his cloned dogs)? - GZERO Media ›
- Argentina's radical new president, Javier Milei (Exclusive interview) - GZERO Media ›
- Javier Milei's plan to save Argentina: Full interview - GZERO Media ›