Patience is wearing down with President Milei

[earlyretirement]

I have always said that this turn around will depend on how much patience people have and I always said there will be a limit to how much patience locals will have. Just like before the elections, I forecasted that President Milei would easily win with polling I could see that he would easily win. Now, doing some informal polling, I'm seeing that things are drastically shifting fairly quickly. Even amongst my friends, support has shifted and it's about 65% disapproval.

People were ok paying higher costs for everything IF it meant hope but they don't have much hope and cost of living has drastically gotten more expensive. It's going to be interesting before the mid-terms but I'm seeing internally with friends and business colleagues support shifting away from Milei.

 

[Larry]

I tried telling all of you since he got elected this would happen but none of you listened to me.

 

[Uncle Wong]

I have always said that this turn around will depend on how patience people are and I always said there will be a limit to how much patience locals will have. Just like before the elections, I forecasted that President Milei would easily win with polling I could see that he would easily win. Now, doing some informal polling, I'm seeing that things are drastically shifting fairly quickly. Even amongst my friends, support has shifted and it's about 65% disapproval.

People were ok paying higher costs for everything IF it meant hope but they don't have much hope and cost of living has drastically gotten more expensive. It's going to be interesting before the mid-terms but I'm seeing internally with friends and business colleagues support shifting away from Milei.

I am seeing the same thing with my local friends in BA. It is not that they want to see a return of power of Peronists but they don't feel like the higher prices are worth it because if there was some hope to turn things around but they are bitter now that cost of living is so much more. I don't understand because all the polls were showing that support was still high. I guess the polls aren't correct?

 

[Betsy Ross]

I am seeing the same thing with my local friends in BA. It is not that they want to see a return of power of Peronists but they don't feel like the higher prices are worth it because if there was some hope to turn things around but they are bitter now that cost of living is so much more. I don't understand because all the polls were showing that support was still high. I guess the polls aren't correct?

Polls can quickly change. In Argentina things can change very quickly.

 

[Darksider415]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

 

[earlyretirement]

I am seeing the same thing with my local friends in BA. It is not that they want to see a return of power of Peronists but they don't feel like the higher prices are worth it because if there was some hope to turn things around but they are bitter now that cost of living is so much more. I don't understand because all the polls were showing that support was still high. I guess the polls aren't correct?

That is precisely the problem. People are willing to do their part to help turn the country around IF they believe there is hope of a fairly quick turn around. The problem in Argentina is NOTHING is quick or easy. That is the reason why Milei raised them as quick as he did in the beginning because he knew that people would eventually lose patience. And we are probably close to that point with many people.

Polls are to be taken with a grain of salt and they can suddenly change. I was one of the only people saying it would be a blow out with Milei winning. But now doing some polling, people are shifting their opinions on if they believe that Milei and his team can be successful. Many don't feel like he has a good enough plan in place. The easy cuts were already done and incremental improvements are very slow and tough with such a few number of his party in control. And even within his party it's fractured and splitering with even the VP and Milei not on good terms. The last thing you want before mid-term elections.

Then you had some huge bad missteps at the wrong time. Like the Libra scandal which even if polls say it didn't hurt him, it did. Because you have people on the fence already and see things like that and just shift their opinion and say he is just like the other past corrupt politicians. His handling of the situation was terrible too. He should have immediately fired his sister and that would have gone a long way.

The IMF is not likely to give the funds allowing them to manipulate their currency like they are. So it's one thing after another. And his saving grace, lowering inflation even is proving to have issues with inflation in March going back up to around 5% to 6% this month on many items. Stores are usually ahead of the curve on increasing pricing. This inflation was even before the latest jump up in the blue dollar rate yesterday and today.

C5N is about as far to the left as you can get so take their #'s with a grain of salt but as I mentioned, I'm seeing amongst friends and colleagues in Argentian a sudden shift the past 2 months since the Libra scandal.

Se derrumba la imagen de Javier Milei: cayó 17% en marzo y el 69% desaprueba su gestión

Un estudio privado reveló que, a semanas del escándalo $LIBRA, la imagen negativa del Presidente escaló al 55%, mientras que la positiva bajó al 33%. Además, más de la mitad de los argentinos considera que la situación empeorará en 2025.

www.c5n.com

 

[earlyretirement]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

Yes, exactly. It's all little things that add up. You have to remember that there are limits to how much people will accept. Just as I think it's wrong to allow protestors to block the streets, burn things and be violent, you still have to respect the rights of people to protest peacefully and Milei and Bullrich are making mistakes on this front.

I have a lot of friends that were on the fence with Milei and willing to give him a shot but there are videos of peacefully protesting senior citizens getting pepper strayed. Even under CFK there were a lot of people peacefully protesting and things like that are a part of Argentina's culture.

Some of the latest polling showing a fall in approval matches what I am seeing.

 

[Darksider415]

Yes, exactly. It's all little things that add up. You have to remember that there are limits to how much people will accept. Just as I think it's wrong to allow protestors to block the streets, burn things and be violent, you still have to respect the rights of people to protest peacefully and Milei and Bullrich are making mistakes on this front.

I have a lot of friends that were on the fence with Milei and willing to give him a shot but there are videos of peacefully protesting senior citizens getting pepper strayed. Even under CFK there were a lot of people peacefully protesting and things like that are a part of Argentina's culture.

Some of the latest polling showing a fall in approval matches what I am seeing.

I saw something a day or two ago with Pato complaining about the barrabravas and wanting to crack down on them, and my first thought was "First the retirees and now the barrabravas... They really want to see if Milei can do a de la Rúa impression, don't they?"

It's a midterm election year in Argentina, so anything can happen.

 

[Betsy Ross]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

I heard the same thing @Darksider415. I have friends in Belgrano and they sent me a video of all the pot banging in support. Unfortunately, they are playing right into the hands of these paid thugs. The protests should intensify leading up to the elections. I hope they have a good plan to deal with this.

That is precisely the problem. People are willing to do their part to help turn the country around IF they believe there is hope of a fairly quick turn around. The problem in Argentina is NOTHING is quick or easy. That is the reason why Milei raised them as quick as he did in the beginning because he knew that people would eventually lose patience. And we are probably close to that point with many people.

Polls are to be taken with a grain of salt and they can suddenly change. I was one of the only people saying it would be a blow out with Milei winning. But now doing some polling, people are shifting their opinions on if they believe that Milei and his team can be successful. Many don't feel like he has a good enough plan in place. The easy cuts were already done and incremental improvements are very slow and tough with such a few number of his party in control. And even within his party it's fractured and splitering with even the VP and Milei not on good terms. The last thing you want before mid-term elections.

Then you had some huge bad missteps at the wrong time. Like the Libra scandal which even if polls say it didn't hurt him, it did. Because you have people on the fence already and see things like that and just shift their opinion and say he is just like the other past corrupt politicians. His handling of the situation was terrible too. He should have immediately fired his sister and that would have gone a long way.

The IMF is not likely to give the funds allowing them to manipulate their currency like they are. So it's one thing after another. And his saving grace, lowering inflation even is proving to have issues with inflation in March going back up to around 5% to 6% this month on many items. Stores are usually ahead of the curve on increasing pricing. This inflation was even before the latest jump up in the blue dollar rate yesterday and today.

C5N is about as far to the left as you can get so take their #'s with a grain of salt but as I mentioned, I'm seeing amongst friends and colleagues in Argentian a sudden shift the past 2 months since the Libra scandal.

Se derrumba la imagen de Javier Milei: cayó 17% en marzo y el 69% desaprueba su gestión

Un estudio privado reveló que, a semanas del escándalo $LIBRA, la imagen negativa del Presidente escaló al 55%, mientras que la positiva bajó al 33%. Además, más de la mitad de los argentinos considera que la situación empeorará en 2025.

www.c5n.com

I didn't see this new approval rating. I would discount it automatically as it is C5N but that looks like it is an actual consulting firm that did the poll and they linked the PDF to it. I will read it. But this will be terrible if the polling has fallen so quickly after only a few months.

I saw something a day or two ago with Pato complaining about the barrabravas and wanting to crack down on them, and my first thought was "First the retirees and now the barrabravas... They really want to see if Milei can do a de la Rúa impression, don't they?"

It's a midterm election year in Argentina, so anything can happen.

I think Pato needs to relax a bit. This isn't the time to go to hard and heavy. Many already believe that they are going too far. When support is already on the balance and you have people on the fence this isn't the time to go to any extremes.

 

[Bharat]

I tried telling all of you since he got elected this would happen but none of you listened to me.

Larry look like you were right after all.

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

My friends now say that prices too much. And because election year there is not anything Milei can do until election. Things feel different. Prices too high in BA. It crazy!

 

[MikeYoung]

I have always said that this turn around will depend on how much patience people have and I always said there will be a limit to how much patience locals will have. Just like before the elections, I forecasted that President Milei would easily win with polling I could see that he would easily win. Now, doing some informal polling, I'm seeing that things are drastically shifting fairly quickly. Even amongst my friends, support has shifted and it's about 65% disapproval.

People were ok paying higher costs for everything IF it meant hope but they don't have much hope and cost of living has drastically gotten more expensive. It's going to be interesting before the mid-terms but I'm seeing internally with friends and business colleagues support shifting away from Milei.

But what other hope is there? If Milei's party doesn't win in the election in October isn't this dooms day? I see Massa actually campaigning again. If Milei fails I guess the left could come back stronger saying that Milei was a failed experiment. 🙁

 

[Blockchain]

I tried telling all of you since he got elected this would happen but none of you listened to me.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day Larry.

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

Interesting that several of you are feeling a shift. The people that I met in BA were never too thrilled on Milei. A few said they would give him a chance but they say it was a failed experiment. Their cost of living has gone up and their quality of life has gone down. If more are saying the same thing then this administration seems doomed.

That is precisely the problem. People are willing to do their part to help turn the country around IF they believe there is hope of a fairly quick turn around. The problem in Argentina is NOTHING is quick or easy. That is the reason why Milei raised them as quick as he did in the beginning because he knew that people would eventually lose patience. And we are probably close to that point with many people.

Polls are to be taken with a grain of salt and they can suddenly change. I was one of the only people saying it would be a blow out with Milei winning. But now doing some polling, people are shifting their opinions on if they believe that Milei and his team can be successful. Many don't feel like he has a good enough plan in place. The easy cuts were already done and incremental improvements are very slow and tough with such a few number of his party in control. And even within his party it's fractured and splitering with even the VP and Milei not on good terms. The last thing you want before mid-term elections.

Then you had some huge bad missteps at the wrong time. Like the Libra scandal which even if polls say it didn't hurt him, it did. Because you have people on the fence already and see things like that and just shift their opinion and say he is just like the other past corrupt politicians. His handling of the situation was terrible too. He should have immediately fired his sister and that would have gone a long way.

The IMF is not likely to give the funds allowing them to manipulate their currency like they are. So it's one thing after another. And his saving grace, lowering inflation even is proving to have issues with inflation in March going back up to around 5% to 6% this month on many items. Stores are usually ahead of the curve on increasing pricing. This inflation was even before the latest jump up in the blue dollar rate yesterday and today.

C5N is about as far to the left as you can get so take their #'s with a grain of salt but as I mentioned, I'm seeing amongst friends and colleagues in Argentian a sudden shift the past 2 months since the Libra scandal.

Se derrumba la imagen de Javier Milei: cayó 17% en marzo y el 69% desaprueba su gestión

Un estudio privado reveló que, a semanas del escándalo $LIBRA, la imagen negativa del Presidente escaló al 55%, mientras que la positiva bajó al 33%. Además, más de la mitad de los argentinos considera que la situación empeorará en 2025.

www.c5n.com

I just read that. There was always one side that was against him but if more of his supporters start shifting their hope then it's not going to be good.

The Delfos report asked Argentines about their vision in social and economic matters for the rest of 2025: 56% believe that the situation in the country will not improve during Javier Milei's mandate, while 54% consider that Argentina's course is not the right one.

 

[James Bond]

I have always said that this turn around will depend on how much patience people have and I always said there will be a limit to how much patience locals will have. Just like before the elections, I forecasted that President Milei would easily win with polling I could see that he would easily win. Now, doing some informal polling, I'm seeing that things are drastically shifting fairly quickly. Even amongst my friends, support has shifted and it's about 65% disapproval.

People were ok paying higher costs for everything IF it meant hope but they don't have much hope and cost of living has drastically gotten more expensive. It's going to be interesting before the mid-terms but I'm seeing internally with friends and business colleagues support shifting away from Milei.

Very true. I believe Milei was good for Argentina and the changes were very needed. Deregulation, import tax reductions, cutting spending. The problem is that he got away from many of the things he was for. He started going far away from Libertarian principles. He harshly criticized currency interventation and then did the same thing as all the rest and even hired the same people!

Subsidies needed to be increased but not as suddenly as he did it. It made life too difficult for people already struggling. Transportation, utilities was just too much too soon. So you had that 50% of the poor already against him. But if people don't feel like things are going to get better and prices keep going up you are sunk.

I left last year to Spain and it was a great decision. Prices are stable here. It is good not having to go to the store and have the price keep changing. Even staples like beef kept going up and is still going up. And the worst thing about it is that people try to ignore that Argentina is extremely expensive. I would go to buy a shirt in BA and it is literally 300% more than in Spain! In what world is that normal. Even with Milei around for over a year it's even worse. Prices are even higher. Stores aren't reducing their prices.

Steak prices keep going up. Companies use whatever excuse to keep raising prices up. Look at inflation this month and it is heading back up. With this blue rate jumping up what do you think that will do to prices? They will go up even more!

Last week didn't help and add in the non-sense with the Supreme court mess. Milei has made mistakes and he keeps making more. The most sensible scenario is that Villaruel takes over if Milei is forced out.

 

[VINO]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

Agree. It's one thing with the rioters but another with some of these old people protesting.

Argentina must protect social mobilization, not silence it - WOLA

Social and human rights organizations express our deep concern over the brutal repression ofsocial protest in Argentina on Wednesday 12. The “march for the retired” has been taking placeevery Wednesday for months in Buenos Aires against cuts in pensions and medicine provisionin a context of...

www.wola.org

 

[David]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

If these people going to the protests are any indicator. They look like young people from all walks of life. Let's see how big the protests are today. that will give a good idea if things are turning.

 

[BA Bound]

I have always said that this turn around will depend on how much patience people have and I always said there will be a limit to how much patience locals will have. Just like before the elections, I forecasted that President Milei would easily win with polling I could see that he would easily win. Now, doing some informal polling, I'm seeing that things are drastically shifting fairly quickly. Even amongst my friends, support has shifted and it's about 65% disapproval.

People were ok paying higher costs for everything IF it meant hope but they don't have much hope and cost of living has drastically gotten more expensive. It's going to be interesting before the mid-terms but I'm seeing internally with friends and business colleagues support shifting away from Milei.

Feel the same thing. Most of the people I know do want him to succeed but they are losing hope that he will. I don't know anything about politics but they say he can't make any big moves anymore until the elections and the opposition will keep chipping away at him. I don't understand why he is fighting with the VP. Is that a power play? My friend told me that Karina Milei hates VP. His sister sounds like a source of a lot of problems.

 

[Wally]

I'm starting to sense the shifting of the tides as well. I think the debacle in front of the Congreso last week was a tipping point for more than a few, as well. When folks as far out as Colegiales and Belgrano are beating their pans in solidarity with the protestors in front of the Congress, you should probably back off and reevaluate your strategy

I am not sure it's necessarily geared towards Milei but just frustration in general at the high cost of things. Prices keep going up and inflation this month has also gone back up after being a bit calm. Let's see what this higher blue dollar rate will do to inflation the rest of this month and next.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

to Spain and it was a great decision

because the country is in turmoil and living there temporarily would be 'better' for you and i, whereas locals may not feel that way.

Prices are stable here

i can assure you that prices in Dollars for regular living are overwhelmingly unchanged since i've been here a year and a half...in fact, prices in Pesos for milk (at full price, which i never pay) have been 1270-1395 Pesos per liter for at least 6 months...whereas when i got to Argentina in Nov2023, prices went up weekly if not daily by a few Pesos.

The people that I met in BA were never too thrilled on Milei

i always try to remember that BsAs is the NYC here, so obviously the people living in veeeeeeery center of a city center of a 13-million metro area are NOT representative of the rest of the country (compare to how Portland or Seattle or NYC etc. vote in the USA compared to Nebraska, Dakotas, etc.) - all the biggest peronists are obviously going to flock to CABA for these types of things, just like big protests in Washington DC...but the crowd in DC is overwhelmingly not representative of most USA folks

I'm seeing internally with friends and business colleagues support shifting away from Milei.

how much of this has to do with the aspect of corruption being good for foreign investments/etc.? for instance, perma-tourists coming to Argentina benefit from a weak Peso and overall lack of development in the country, since it means they can live for cheaper and get special favors (bribing cops, overstaying visas, etc.)

and similarly there must be an aspect where investors, foreign and local, enjoy higher profits and monopolies when the government is corrupt and more easily influenced to give special favors and secret advantages. this isn't a criticism of you or saying you work with corrupt people, but as Robert Kiyosaki says, there's a sort of 'business Realism' where if you don't eat lunch with the mayor and have connections in government, someone else will, and they will profit much more than you

so, in your circles, how many people are inclined to WANT Milei to be obstructed by everyone else in gov't, so they can get back to backdoor deals and greasing the wheel with less competition in their industry? for instance, early 2024 we saw so many tourists in Argentina suddenly upset that the Peso was stabilizing; even i commented on this on this forum before, that it's actually counter to my financial situation that Argentina prospers, so there's a sort of weird ideological contradiction where i want free markets to exist and Argentina to get past its third-world silliness (in many aspects), but i also want to be able to use my crypto and dollars more effectively in building my wealth. so as much as i want the Peso to be back 1:1, no one can argue that the increasing Blue Dollar right now at 1,270 is beneficial to those like me who spend in dollars.

it reminds me of when i was doing security contracting in the middle east, and i ideologically wanted our base to shut down because i knew it was just a CIA hub (the State Department is basically just a method to get intelligence agents in other countries and influence economics/politics), yet i was making around 150k a year to do much less work than when i was a regular cop in the USA for about 50k a year. thus, it was sort of a relief when my consulate got evacuated and closed, but i couldn't have said that it was "good" for my life. and when COVID was going on, the lockdown nazis secretly wanted the unvaxxed like me to get sick or die, so they could feel like they were right about their fascism (i don't know what this psychological term is called)

there are videos of peacefully protesting senior citizens getting pepper [sprayed]

where, twitter?

so, how many of these 65% are powerful upper-class foreign investors etc., who would stand to make much more profits in the Argentina that was engulfed in Peronism and corruption for decades?

 

[Wally]

because the country is in turmoil and living there temporarily would be 'better' for you and i, whereas locals may not feel that way.


i can assure you that prices in Dollars for regular living are overwhelmingly unchanged since i've been here a year and a half...in fact, prices in Pesos for milk (at full price, which i never pay) have been 1270-1395 Pesos per liter for at least 6 months...whereas when i got to Argentina in Nov2023, prices went up weekly if not daily by a few Pesos.


i always try to remember that BsAs is the NYC here, so obviously the people living in veeeeeeery center of a city center of a 13-million metro area are NOT representative of the rest of the country (compare to how Portland or Seattle or NYC etc. vote in the USA compared to Nebraska, Dakotas, etc.) - all the biggest peronists are obviously going to flock to CABA for these types of things, just like big protests in Washington DC...but the crowd in DC is overwhelmingly not representative of most USA folks


how much of this has to do with the aspect of corruption being good for foreign investments/etc.? for instance, perma-tourists coming to Argentina benefit from a weak Peso and overall lack of development in the country, since it means they can live for cheaper and get special favors (bribing cops, overstaying visas, etc.)

and similarly there must be an aspect where investors, foreign and local, enjoy higher profits and monopolies when the government is corrupt and more easily influenced to give special favors and secret advantages. this isn't a criticism of you or saying you work with corrupt people, but as Robert Kiyosaki says, there's a sort of 'business Realism' where if you don't eat lunch with the mayor and have connections in government, someone else will, and they will profit much more than you

so, in your circles, how many people are inclined to WANT Milei to be obstructed by everyone else in gov't, so they can get back to backdoor deals and greasing the wheel with less competition in their industry? for instance, early 2024 we saw so many tourists in Argentina suddenly upset that the Peso was stabilizing; even i commented on this on this forum before, that it's actually counter to my financial situation that Argentina prospers, so there's a sort of weird ideological contradiction where i want free markets to exist and Argentina to get past its third-world silliness (in many aspects), but i also want to be able to use my crypto and dollars more effectively in building my wealth. so as much as i want the Peso to be back 1:1, no one can argue that the increasing Blue Dollar right now at 1,270 is beneficial to those like me who spend in dollars.

it reminds me of when i was doing security contracting in the middle east, and i ideologically wanted our base to shut down because i knew it was just a CIA hub (the State Department is basically just a method to get intelligence agents in other countries and influence economics/politics), yet i was making around 150k a year to do much less work than when i was a regular cop in the USA for about 50k a year. thus, it was sort of a relief when my consulate got evacuated and closed, but i couldn't have said that it was "good" for my life. and when COVID was going on, the lockdown nazis secretly wanted the unvaxxed like me to get sick or die, so they could feel like they were right about their fascism (i don't know what this psychological term is called)


where, twitter?

so, how many of these 65% are powerful upper-class foreign investors etc., who would stand to make much more profits in the Argentina that was engulfed in Peronism and corruption for decades?

Hard to believe that inflation isn't also affecting you there in Mendoza. Great if true but doubt that can be true. Are you going out to eat much? There are people that don't do anything. There is a guy on the old board that only spends about $400 a month. He doesn't do anything and barely leaves his house.

Inflation has been all over Argentina. Sure it has slowed down which is great but prices are still going up. Are restaurants not going up in Mendoza @StatusNomadicus? I think if you don't go out and do much, activities, tuition for kids, medical bills you can go by with not too much increase but come to BA and you will be shocked how much restaurants are here.

I don't doubt that YOUR expenses haven't gone up much if you don't do much but are you reading all of the posts on prices going up and people complaining?? Do you think everyone is making that stuff up? Article after article in many reputable magazines and look at the Big Mac index. Just because your cost of living hasn't gone up that much doesn't mean that it hasn't for most people.

 

[earlyretirement]

because the country is in turmoil and living there temporarily would be 'better' for you and i, whereas locals may not feel that way.


i can assure you that prices in Dollars for regular living are overwhelmingly unchanged since i've been here a year and a half...in fact, prices in Pesos for milk (at full price, which i never pay) have been 1270-1395 Pesos per liter for at least 6 months...whereas when i got to Argentina in Nov2023, prices went up weekly if not daily by a few Pesos.


i always try to remember that BsAs is the NYC here, so obviously the people living in veeeeeeery center of a city center of a 13-million metro area are NOT representative of the rest of the country (compare to how Portland or Seattle or NYC etc. vote in the USA compared to Nebraska, Dakotas, etc.) - all the biggest peronists are obviously going to flock to CABA for these types of things, just like big protests in Washington DC...but the crowd in DC is overwhelmingly not representative of most USA folks


how much of this has to do with the aspect of corruption being good for foreign investments/etc.? for instance, perma-tourists coming to Argentina benefit from a weak Peso and overall lack of development in the country, since it means they can live for cheaper and get special favors (bribing cops, overstaying visas, etc.)

and similarly there must be an aspect where investors, foreign and local, enjoy higher profits and monopolies when the government is corrupt and more easily influenced to give special favors and secret advantages. this isn't a criticism of you or saying you work with corrupt people, but as Robert Kiyosaki says, there's a sort of 'business Realism' where if you don't eat lunch with the mayor and have connections in government, someone else will, and they will profit much more than you

so, in your circles, how many people are inclined to WANT Milei to be obstructed by everyone else in gov't, so they can get back to backdoor deals and greasing the wheel with less competition in their industry? for instance, early 2024 we saw so many tourists in Argentina suddenly upset that the Peso was stabilizing; even i commented on this on this forum before, that it's actually counter to my financial situation that Argentina prospers, so there's a sort of weird ideological contradiction where i want free markets to exist and Argentina to get past its third-world silliness (in many aspects), but i also want to be able to use my crypto and dollars more effectively in building my wealth. so as much as i want the Peso to be back 1:1, no one can argue that the increasing Blue Dollar right now at 1,270 is beneficial to those like me who spend in dollars.

it reminds me of when i was doing security contracting in the middle east, and i ideologically wanted our base to shut down because i knew it was just a CIA hub (the State Department is basically just a method to get intelligence agents in other countries and influence economics/politics), yet i was making around 150k a year to do much less work than when i was a regular cop in the USA for about 50k a year. thus, it was sort of a relief when my consulate got evacuated and closed, but i couldn't have said that it was "good" for my life. and when COVID was going on, the lockdown nazis secretly wanted the unvaxxed like me to get sick or die, so they could feel like they were right about their fascism (i don't know what this psychological term is called)


where, twitter?

so, how many of these 65% are powerful upper-class foreign investors etc., who would stand to make much more profits in the Argentina that was engulfed in Peronism and corruption for decades?

I wouldn't discount Spain. Many, many expats are moving there. Much of my wife's family lives there and we have friends living there as well. They all are commenting how great of a lifestyle it is there. In fact, I'm going to check it out this summer and going there for 2 months. I'm meeting up with @James Bond while there. Several expats are moving there. I agree the government is a mess so is Argentina's. Not trying to say one country is better than the other but many people enjoy living there and I'm excited to spend the summer there.

Besides the few grocery items you mention @StatusNomadicus like milk and some other things what else has stayed the same? I think you mentioned your electricity bill jumping up. Look at the cost of many things and they have skyrocketed up over the past year. I realize you don't have any HOA bills in your house but most of Buenos Aires has HOA bills as most live in apartments. Transportation, medical bills, medicine and other healthcare-related bills, food, restaurants, cafes have all gone up.

I'm not trying to say it is Milei's fault because it is not but it is just an undeniable fact of life that the cost of living has gone up. I'm speaking for Buenos Aires as I'm not sure outside of BA how prices fluctuate but I'd have to believe utilities and other things that they are going up are also going up in Mendoza. I'd be surprised if many restaurants in Mendoza aren't much higher than last year.

I literally don't know any expats in Argentina that try to argue that prices are the same in USD vs. you. It may come down to your lifestyle and activities that you do. But I know tons and tons of people in Buenos Aires from 23 years of living and working there. Most of them are married but even my single friends are all complaining about cost of living.

Corruption is NEVER good for investments or business. At least not in the legitimate businesses and circles that I run in. Corruption will keep foreign direct investments out. Foreigners don't need to depend on "corruption" to be a perma-tourist as the law allows it so I see no way corruption helping people. It's an evil in any society.

No, I don't know of any foreigner or investor that would want corruption or favor it. NONE of my friends want to see Milei fail. I was one of the biggest champions of President Milei and still want to see if succeed and think he is Argentina's best shot. But I will call things as I see them. When Milei does well I will say it but when he does corrupt things like Libra scam I will call it out.

It's ok if you see things differently but you are literally the only person I know that thinks prices are the same from over a year ago in USD.