Milei will lead Argentina's change of course: Strong economic reforms and alignment with the US and Israel

He will travel to Israel before taking office with the future commitment to move the Argentine Embassy in Jerusalem

The elimination of the Central Bank and the dollarization of the economy, its star proposals in the financial field

MADRID, 20 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The ultra-liberal Javier Milei has won the Argentine presidential elections with a clear advantage of eleven points over his rival, the Peronist Sergio Massa, and will thus try to launch a revolution in the economic policies and international alignment of the South American country to break with the four years of Alberto Fernández's mandate.

The eccentric Milei has placed Argentina's economic restructuring as the spearhead of his electoral campaign, promising not only the dollarization of the economy, but also to drastically reduce the number of ministries, going from 18 portfolios to just eight, in which the president-elect already classified it as a "complete reform of the State."

In mid-August, when the presidential elections were still far away on the horizon, Milei shared a video in which, in front of a whiteboard, he announced which ministries he would eliminate and which would remain in his future cabinet. The winners would be the ministries of Human Capital, Infrastructure, Economy, Justice, Security, Defense, Foreign Affairs and Interior.

Tearing off the stickers with the name of each portfolio from a government organization chart, Milei asserted that he would eliminate the Tourism and Sports, Culture, Environment and Sustainable Development portfolios; Women and Gender; Public Works, Science and Technology, Public Sector, Labor and Social Security, Education, Transportation, Health and Social Development.

"The State is not the solution, the State is the problem," the then-candidate asserted, adding that precisely the State was "the source of Argentine decadence" and that "nothing good came out of the public sector."

On the other hand, Milei has pointed to the closure or privatization of "all public companies", a measure that could even affect media outlets such as the public news agency Télam, the television network TV Pública, the National Institute of Science and Audiovisual Arts or the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism.

In addition to cuts in state spending, Milei has promised in recent months a battery of economic measures in which the country's dollarization is the star proposal, but which hides another series of initiatives such as the drastic reduction of public spending to less than 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product or tax reduction.

In this area, his commitment to eliminating the Central Bank of Argentina stands out, which will not only end inflation "forever", but will allow Argentines to "trade with the currency they want." Argentina has been immersed in a financial crisis for more than 20 years, which forced the country to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund in 2018 to pay the debt. Inflation in Argentina is currently 142.7 percent and rising.

Milei also advocates "eliminating 90 percent of current taxes," since, according to him, "they only have an impact of around two percent of GDP in terms of revenue but hinder the functioning of the economy," according to the report. newspaper 'Ámbito'.

Likewise, its electoral program includes the reform of the energy system to reverse a situation of "disinvestment, definancing and inefficiency", advocating at this point to eliminate subsidies; at the same time as cuts in spending on retirements and pensions, pointing to the transition towards a private model.

As far as Argentina's position on the international scene is concerned, Milei has advocated breaking with Fernández's positions - closer to Brazil and China - and opting to strengthen not only relations with the United States, but also with Israel.

In this way, Argentina would distance itself from the trend in South and Central America. Bolivia and Belize have broken diplomatic relations with Israel, while other countries such as Colombia, Honduras or Chile have called their ambassadors in Tel Aviv for consultations.

Shortly after certifying his victory, Milei announced that before December 10 - the date of the inauguration - he will travel to the United States and also to Israel, this second destination after receiving an invitation from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "Those are the first trips I am going to make. Everything will be before assuming (the position)," said the elected president.

In the midst of the war in the Middle East, relations between Argentina and Israel have been one of the issues on which Milei has had to take a position, advocating the inauguration of the Argentine Embassy in Jerusalem, a gesture with which to highlight support for the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian Authority.

Aware of Milei's positions, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, conveyed his congratulations to the president-elect on the same Sunday night, just moments after learning of the ultra-liberal's victory. "We hope to work together with you to strengthen relations between Israel and Argentina and deepen ties between peoples," said the Israeli minister on his social networks.

Milei, close to other far-right political figures, such as former United States President Donald Trump and Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro, has hinted that his electoral victory could be the prelude to the return of these two former presidents to the Presidency of their respective countries. The United States will hold presidential elections in 2024, while Brazil will do the same in 2026.

In fact, Trump also expressed his support for Milei before the elections and after learning of his victory, he acknowledged being "very proud" of him. "You will change the course of your country and truly make Argentina great again," Trump said on his social networks.

Finally, Milei has proposed a reform of the judicial system, since in recent years Justice has worked at the service of the ruling political class and "instead of functioning as a defender of the rights of individuals, it has been used to persecute opponents and favor friends".

Thus, the ultra-liberal opted during his electoral campaign to promote a remodeling of the system that "has as its goal the depoliticization of Justice and the defense of the fundamental rights of Argentines." Milei has also promised to fill the vacancies that exist in the Supreme Court of Justice and in the position of attorney general.

In terms of Education, a ministry that Milei directly related to "indoctrination", the president-elect promised at the time to move towards a model "of free choice and competition", allowing the parents of the students to be the ones to choose the contents. that are taught in classrooms.

Finally, in terms of security, Milei has opted to implement a system "based on the principle that the one who does it pays", thus paving the way towards a reform of the Internal Security, National Defense and Intelligence law. , as well as fighting against land occupation and "prioritizing the fight against drug trafficking."

"Due to the elephantine size of the State, all control has been lost over the actions not only of the forces, but of each level of the State," a Milei has denounced on some occasion, lamenting that "security in Argentina has fallen into deterioration." constant for decades.