The ultra-liberal president wants to get Argentina back on track with a tough austerity program. The Hayek Society is honoring him for this. But it’s not just fans who are waiting for Milei in Hamburg.
Argentine President Javier Milei has prescribed a real drastic cure for his country. In recent months he has cut thousands of public sector jobs, stopped infrastructure projects, reduced subsidies and wound up social programs. He is now being honored for his ultra-liberal experiment by the Friedrich August von Hayek Society in Hamburg. The liberal economists’ association plans to award Milei a medal today that is named after the Austrian pioneer of neoliberalism.
The association’s chairman, Kiel economics professor Stefan Kooths, praised Milei as an ambitious reformer in the spirit of the Austrian economist Hayek (1899-1992). With his liberal economic and socio-political program, he addressed the core problems of his once prosperous country, which had been prevented from developing successfully for decades by corruption, state-run economics, excessive debt and the breakdown of the currency.
South America’s second-largest economy is in recession and is suffering from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of a lot of tax revenue. The ultra-liberal president wants to get the country back on track with a radical austerity program.
Inflation is falling, but the economy is also stagnating
There are initial successes: for the first time in a long time, the Argentine national budget is balanced and inflation has fallen significantly. But this has its price: the tough austerity program is choking economic output. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects economic output to fall by 2.8 percent this year. According to the Catholic University of Argentina, almost 56 percent of people in Argentina live below the poverty line and around 18 percent live in extreme poverty.
Left-wing organizations have called for protests in Germany. A demonstration under the slogan “No prize for the extreme right – no medal for Milei” is planned near the Hamburg venue. His vice president, Victoria Villarruel, in particular, serves the conservative clientele at home, maintains contacts with right-wing groups around the world and repeatedly provokes with statements about the military junta (1976-1983). The daughter of an officer casts doubt on the number of deaths during the dictatorship estimated by human rights organizations at 30,000 and calls for more recognition for the victims of left-wing guerrilla groups.
On Friday, the Argentine president met in Spain with the conservative regional president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. “Argentina is experiencing a powerful resurrection,” said Ayuso. “The whole world is talking about Argentina right now.” However, meetings with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez or King Felipe VI did not take place. Milei recently caused a diplomatic scandal when he described Sánchez’s wife as corrupt at a rally of the right-wing populist Vox party in Spain.
Milei: “Don’t let socialism ruin your life”
At his meeting with Ayuso, Milei again lashed out at Sánchez. “Hayek once said that if socialists understood economics, they wouldn’t be socialists. Well, it seems that Mr. Sánchez is one of the exceptions to the rule, because although he studied economics, he either doesn’t understand it or he loves the state to collect taxes from the Spanish.”
His supporters celebrated him in front of the regional government headquarters at the Puerta del Sol in the center of Madrid. They cheered the guest from Argentina and chanted “Milei, Milei!”, “Freedom, freedom!” and “Friend Milei, Spain is at your side!” In his speech, the guest repeated some of his beliefs: “Don’t let socialism ruin your life” and “Socialism is based on envy, hatred and resentment,” he shouted energetically.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to meet the controversial Argentine head of state for talks in Berlin on Sunday. However, a reception with military honors and a joint press conference were cancelled. Milei will end his European trip on Monday with a visit to the Czech Republic.
Source: Stern
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