Long live free market, cries new Argentine president Milei
ARGENTINA’S firebrand president Javier Milei has warned that the West risks condemning itself to socialism and abject poverty unless it embraces free markets.
In a special address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Milei vowed to keep slashing the size of the state as he battles to fix an economic crisis that saw inflation hit 211pc in December.
He said: “Today, I’m here to tell you that the Western world is in danger.
“And it is in danger because those who are supposed to have to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism, and thereby to poverty.”
In a 25-minute address Mr Milei railed against socialism, warn that “radical feminism” had led to greater state intervention, and end his address by shouting “Long live freedom, dammit!” to cheers from the audience.
Mr Milei also called on business and political leaders at Davos to reject socialism and instead embrace “free enterprise capitalism” to bring an end to world poverty.
He criticised social justice campaigners that he warned were “not just and do not contribute to the wellbeing of the people”.
Mr Milei has outlined a series of radical economic plans as part of his “shock therapy” plan, including dollarising the economy and abolishing the country’s central bank.
He said last week that the institution would be shut down “sooner or later”.
Cabinet sources in the Milei administration said that these plans remained on the “to-do” list, adding that policymakers were focused on stabilising the economy first.
“Argentina has abused monetary financing for many decades,” said one senior source. “That means our currency has continued to be a nightmare for all the Argentines with the peso always weakening.”
Asked if Mr Milei’s plans to shrink the public sector workforce by a third, cancel public sector infrastructure projects and slash the number of government ministries in half to nine were radical, another senior source said: “It’s nothing radical. We are trying to do the common sense thing. You can’t spend more than you earn, and you cannot have privileges when people are poor.”