Government
Milei meets Trump: “Make Argentina great again”
Since taking office in December, Javier Milei has been trying to open up Argentina’s previously heavily regulated economy. photo
© Jose Luis Magana/AP/dpa
Two people have found each other: Javier Milei and Donald Trump seem to get along well. At a meeting of right-wing conservatives in Washington there is a lot of praise and a hug.
Trump is seeking another term in office in the United States in November’s presidential election. Now he won the Republican primary in the state of South Carolina, further expanding his lead over his internal party competitors. “You were a great president, I hope you will be again,” Milei told Trump. The ex-president replied: “Thank you, I promise you.”
Milei: No place for socialism
In his speech at the CPAC conference, Milei spoke out against government intervention in the economy and abortion rights. “There is no place for socialism,” he said. At the meeting of right-wing conservatives in the large ballroom of a conference hotel in Washington, the economist received repeated applause for his rather dry lecture.
Since taking office in December, Milei has been trying to open up Argentina’s previously heavily regulated economy. However, he does not have a majority in Congress; he recently clashed with several governors of the South American country in a dispute over money.
Argentina is in a serious economic crisis. The inflation rate is over 250 percent, and around 40 percent of people in the once rich country live below the poverty line. South America’s second largest economy suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of a lot of tax revenue. The national currency, the peso, continues to lose value against the US dollar and the mountain of debt is constantly growing.