The Mess in Argentina - Javier Milei's chainsaw is only making matters worse

[Vero]

On the world stage Milei has put Argentina on the map especially with the positives that Elon Musk amongst others have said about him and the country. Things may not being going well for many, but what they have is hope. Hope leads towards the first step of change.

People outside of Argentina see snippets with Elon Musk and Milei but that does very little for locals that are experiencing huge increases on expenses. No one is arguing that prices shouldn't rise on transportation and even utilities but it should be done with limits.

As someone else mentioned, Elon Musk hasn't invested even one peso in Argentina yet. Because he wants to see how things turn out.

Yes, you're right! I'm not defending the previous administration, but everything needs to have a balance. The average person doesn’t understand macroeconomics, and they shouldn’t have to. With Milei's measures, he hasn’t taken care of the most vulnerable, which shows a lack of empathy on his part. I understand that, besides being president, he is also a person. We'll see if time proves right those who say we need to be patient for a long period.

This is true. People in Argentina don't know anything about economics. All they care is if they have enough to pay the bills and survive from one month to the next and so far many do not.

 

[summer lover]

Yes, you're right! I'm not defending the previous administration, but everything needs to have a balance. The average person doesn’t understand macroeconomics, and they shouldn’t have to. With Milei's measures, he hasn’t taken care of the most vulnerable, which shows a lack of empathy on his part. I understand that, besides being president, he is also a person. We'll see if time proves right those who say we need to be patient for a long period.

It seems like @Lucia is right; people who until recently considered themselves middle class now see themselves as poor. They feel like they are the most affected class. I hope things improve, but it feels so far away. I've read that many companies are closing, leading to a lot of unemployment.

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[Larry]

And what % do you think this would be at if we had hypernflation?? It most certainly would be higher than it is. The poverty numbers are actually starting to go down. Wait until the end of this year and next year to see what it is. If the numbers get much worse the popularity numbers will go down.

But poverty levels are a reflection of previous government's actions. It is painful fixing things and will take time but you can't put all of this on President MIlei.

No one knows if we would be in hyperinflation if Milei lost. That is your guess. Maybe we would be but maybe not. No one knows. Even if there was hyperinflation that would cause poverty to increase, what Milei is doing is intentional and causing the numbers to spike up. So you can't argue that poverty is a reflection of previous government action. You have to admit that his actions are also a result of the poverty numbers increasing. You can't have it both ways.

You can't put all the blame on previous Presidents.

 

[Avocado]

No one knows if we would be in hyperinflation if Milei lost. That is your guess. Maybe we would be but maybe not. No one knows. Even if there was hyperinflation that would cause poverty to increase, what Milei is doing is intentional and causing the numbers to spike up. So you can't argue that poverty is a reflection of previous government action. You have to admit that his actions are also a result of the poverty numbers increasing. You can't have it both ways.

You can't put all the blame on previous Presidents.

Correct. People want to blame everything on the past. This administration wants no blame at all. Read this post. Was very good and true.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831321417125683473

 

[Avocado]

People have short memory. During his campaign Milei said Caputo was the worst Minister of Economy in the history of Argentina and was to blame for much of the mess Argentina is in. Then he hires him and all of a sudden now he is the best Minister in history. You people make me laugh.

 

[Wally]

People have short memory. During his campaign Milei said Caputo was the worst Minister of Economy in the history of Argentina and was to blame for much of the mess Argentina is in. Then he hires him and all of a sudden now he is the best Minister in history. You people make me laugh.

I can't argue with you about his flip-flop on Caputo. It was funny him criticizing him calling him the worst and now he changed his tune. Either things are going to end up really good or end up really bad. Let's check in October 2025. We will already know the answer.

 

[Vince]

No one knows if we would be in hyperinflation if Milei lost. That is your guess. Maybe we would be but maybe not. No one knows. Even if there was hyperinflation that would cause poverty to increase, what Milei is doing is intentional and causing the numbers to spike up. So you can't argue that poverty is a reflection of previous government action. You have to admit that his actions are also a result of the poverty numbers increasing. You can't have it both ways.

You can't put all the blame on previous Presidents.

There is NO doubt at all if Massa won the election that we would be experiencing hyper-inflation. What do you think would be happening now? They would have the printing presses on and printing an unlimited amount of pesos. The poverty rates would be sky-high. The poverty rates look like they will trend down but we need to see over the next few months. You can't have the amount of problems we had and expect an overnight turn around. It will take time.

Argentines are very tough and have survived crises after crises. This is the first time that someone really tried to tackle all of the underlying issues.

 

[Vince]

I am truly sorry to hear about some of you who are living on fixed incomes and struggling. It is a difficult situation no matter which country you are living in. I have pals that are in the US and struggling to get by and they have decent jobs. Some that were retired have gone back to work at least part time to get by.

It goes without saying that our struggles as expats can't compare to people here. I think it's ok to complain and rant about the increasing cost of living. The problem I see with some that I know is they were accustomed to a certain lifestyle when things were cheaper. Traveling around a lot, dining out at restaurants often but now they can't do that. I would argue they could still get by just not at the same lifestyle and luxuries that they had before.

Anyone that was only moving here because it was cheap at one time or another and did not plan for it getting more expensive have doesn't understand the boom and bust cycles of Argentina. This is a country that is always changing. And who knows, next year it could become cheap again in dollars depending on what happens but it could also get a lot more expensive. Plan accordingly for both scenarios.