By Blake Wolf, OAN Staff
Monday, September 16, 2024 2:21 PM
Argentina's Liberal President Javier Milley stuck to his 2025 budget commitments during a presentation to Congress on Sunday, vowing to keep Argentina's finances balanced despite macroeconomic problems.
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Milley personally presented the budget to parliament – a role normally delegated to the economy minister – and warned lawmakers he would not back down on his campaign promise to fight the country's budget deficit.
Milley went on to say that any bill that threatens the budget surplus target will be vetoed as he continues to attack excessive inflation while balancing the nation's budget.
Milley added that the only way an increase in government spending could be considered is if the country were to offset the increase by making similar cuts in other spending.
“Otherwise it will be rejected,” he said. “Any increase in spending will only be discussed if it is accompanied by an explanation of what cuts will be made to compensate,” Milley added.
“This budget takes an approach that will maintain a balanced budget no matter what the economic situation is,” he added.
Milley is pushing ahead with his singular goal of lowering sky-high inflation, which has reached nearly 300 percent, but he is at odds with Congress, which has warned that increased spending would not meet International Monetary Fund demands and jeopardize the country's $800 million bailout loan.
“The cornerstone of this budget is the first truth of macroeconomics, a truth that has been ignored in Argentina for many years: zero deficit,” Millay said in a parliamentary address. “Financial control means cleaning up our balance sheets and deactivating the debt bomb we inherited.”
But the Libertarian Party faces an uphill battle with fewer than 15% of the seats in the House of Representatives. Still, Milley is forging ahead, changing his approach after calling Congress a “rathole.”
“The budget is a statement of principle,” said Argentine economist Agustin Almada. “Even if the opposition doesn't compromise, Millay will continue with austerity measures.”
Milley said the spending cuts were necessary to restore domestic market confidence and stabilise inflation, resulting in the country achieving a budget surplus – its first net surplus in nearly two decades.
“In the short term, we will suffer, but after that, we will rise,” Milley argued.
Millay has also previously warned that his economic policies would only hurt initially as social services and regulations are cut, but his approval rating remains fairly high at around 50 percent, according to a survey by the Argentine consulting firm Cárquitos.
“It's not his fault. It's the Peronists who have ruined the country. Millay is trying his best,” taxi driver Rainer Silva told reporters. “He [Donald] “Trump, everybody's against him.”
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