Milei talks about a biblical catastrophe and that she didn’t promise roses – 12/31/2023 – Market

Javier Milei decided to leave his “Happy 2024” wishes for Argentines until the end of the video, in the official message he published on Saturday night (30).

For just over 20 days in office, the president of Argentina has presented tough proposals — such as cuts in subsidies, reduction of the State and the number of ministries and restrictions on protests.

At a time of year when presidents prefer to give good news, the new Argentine president chose to start his speech by remembering that the population must be prepared for the worst. In the seven-minute video, it’s as if he only remembered at the end that it was New Year’s Eve.

Milei predicts that next year will be difficult for everyone and that the country could face “an economic catastrophe of unknown magnitude for any living Argentine”, if Congress does not approve the measures sent by his government.

The so-called “bus law” (as it covers several sectors, from economics to politics) has a total of 664 articles and proposes, among other points, the elimination of primary elections, changes in the criminal sphere and deregulation of the economy.

Combined with the 366 articles of another decree last week, the measures define the more than a thousand changes that the new government wants to make a “liberal revolution”.

The changes aim to attract investments, reduce the size and bureaucracy of the State and give the Executive powers over matters that would require approval from the Legislature. Some measures toughen penalties under the premise of law and order.

Milei stated that, although many Argentines have been impressed by the number of measures and the speed with which the new government has proposed profound changes, they are necessary to mitigate the effects of what he considers to be the worst legacy in history, left by the previous government. , by Alberto Fernández.

“We are talking about an economy with 15 points of consolidated deficit, with a monetary emission of 20 points of GDP in the last four years, with artificially repressed prices in energy and transport up to a fifth of their real value, with a central bank without reserves and with inflation that in recent weeks has reached 1.2% daily. This annualized would imply around 7,500% per year.”

Milei stated that the measures proposed by the new government are the first steps towards turning the page and leaving behind once and for all the economic model that he considers to have plunged Argentines into misery.

In his message to the population, Milei said that the consequences of not approving the measures would be even more terrible than those of the 2001 and 2002 crisis.

The year 2001 ended in a spiral of “corralito” and “corralón” crises that haunt Argentine politics to this day, with the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa, the end of convertibility between the peso and the dollar, street protests with deaths and injuries, confiscation and devaluation of the currency.

To avoid the worst scenario, the president asked the population for support for the reforms. “This law gives the Executive the necessary powers to act in the face of this emergency situation and avoid economic catastrophe, in addition to promoting profound reforms in commercial, fiscal, productive, social, educational security and in all areas of government”, he said.

With a minority in the Legislature, the anarcho-capitalist took advantage of the end-of-year message to call on the population to pressure deputies and senators to approve the changes. “If all political, social, union and business actors in the country understand the historic moment we are experiencing and support our program, I am sure there will be light at the end of the road.”

The president also said he considers that, despite the difficulties of 2024, this could be the year in which the country leaves behind the “collectivist model” that made it poor and will once again embrace the “freedom model” that made it rich a hundred years ago. .

Read Milei’s full speech:

Just before the New Year celebrations begin, I want to address all Argentines to extend my greetings and share a brief message. Tomorrow will mark the first three weeks since we assumed leadership of the nation. Since December 10, we have designed a shock stabilization plan, shrunk the State, implemented a new public order doctrine and promoted more than 500 reforms, among many other initiatives.

Some were impressed by the number and severity of the measures we took. The truth is that they were necessary to try to mitigate the effects of the worst legacy in history. These are the first steps towards turning the page and leaving behind once and for all the economic model, the caste that plunged Argentines into poverty for more than a hundred years. The radical change of this impoverishing model is a non-negotiable commitment that I have made with all Argentines. However, the inherited problem runs very deep.

We are talking about an economy with 15 points of consolidated deficit, with a monetary emission of 20 points of GDP in the last four years, with artificially repressed prices in energy and transport up to a fifth of their real value, with a Central Bank without reserves and with inflation that in recent weeks has reached 1.2% daily. This annualized would imply around 7,500% per year.

A legacy that condemns half of Argentines to poverty, especially affecting 7 out of 10 of our children. This is a worse initial situation than that of 2001-2002, which was the worst crisis in our history. Therefore, we are facing a national emergency situation that requires us to act immediately and forcefully with the greatest possible number of instruments that far exceed the resources we used in these first weeks.

I want to make this clear: unless we do what is necessary, we are now heading towards an economic catastrophe of a magnitude unknown to any Argentine alive. That’s why we sent Congress a bill that could very well determine the fate of our country with the conviction that it will be approved in the coming weeks. We call this law ‘Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines’, in reference to Juan Bautista Alberdi, the intellectual author of our first Constitution.

Using his ideas as a lighthouse, the country project was carried out that between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century made Argentina the richest country in the world. This law gives the Executive the necessary powers to act in the face of this emergency situation and avoid economic catastrophe, in addition to promoting profound reforms in commercial, fiscal, productive, social, educational security and in all areas of government.

The spirit of the law is to return to being a free country with a limited State that acts in defense of the life, freedom and property of Argentines. A country where public order is respected, a country where politics does not take advantage of citizens, but is at their service. Where everyone is free to work, produce, employ, trade, import and export as they see fit, and not as a bureaucrat dictating the rules of a government office. Who can prefer today’s devastated country to the prosperous country we propose?

In a few weeks, when the moment of truth arrives, the country’s deputies and senators will be faced with two options. Will they be able to reject the law and continue with the model that has impoverished us for a hundred years, or will they be able to pass the law to make a profound change and once again embrace the ideas of freedom?

Over the last year, I have established a code of honor with Argentines. It’s better to tell an uncomfortable truth than a comfortable lie. And although I didn’t promise a path full of roses, but rather one of effort and sacrifice, the vast majority of Argentines reciprocated with their vote.

I will insist on a hard truth that I have said many times: due to the irresponsible decisions made by recent governments, next year will be difficult for all of us. But the other certainty I have is that if our program is obstructed by the same old people, who don’t want anything to change, we will not have the instruments to prevent this crisis from turning into a social catastrophe of biblical proportions.

Avoiding this catastrophic future that they have led us to depends on everyone, it depends on us and the government working every day to protect Argentines as we have done, it depends on union and social leaders who will face the historic responsibility of choosing between general well-being or preservation of their personal interests depends on the deputies and senators who will debate in Congress and who will have to choose whether they want to be part of the solution or whether they want to continue to be part of the problem. And it also depends on good Argentines, who see that we are facing a turning point in our history and have faith that as a nation we can move forward.

And that is why I invite all good Argentines to demand that their representatives approve this law. The country needs this. If all political, social, union and business actors in the country understand the historic moment we are experiencing and support our program, I am sure there will be light at the end of the road.

In essence, our reforms would imply levels of economic freedom that over a period of 45 years would allow us to multiply our GDP per capita tenfold, reaching a level similar to that of Ireland, which today is 50% above that of the United States.

Finally, I want to once again wish all Argentines a happy New Year. I hope you can spend it in the company of your families and loved ones. This could be the year we complete a century of failure. This could be the year that we leave behind the collectivist model that made us poor and that we once again embrace the model of freedom that made us the richest country in the world.

My wish for this new year is that the political leadership abandons its ideological blinders and personal interests and rises to the occasion so that it can quickly move forward with the changes that the country needs. Finally, may God bless the Argentines and may the forces of heaven be with us.

Thank you very much.