Milei, poverty and the limits of social patience

In a country that was considered “the breadbasket of the world,” two out of three children are now poor. Yes, 66% of children under 14 are going hungry in Argentina. The official confirmation of such a tragedy should set off official alarms and trigger a response to reverse it, or at least the pretense of a response. But what did President Javier Milei do? He recorded an interview with a television diva, who he brought, while smiling and joking, to the legendary balcony of the Casa Rosada, the seat of government in Argentina. Perhaps he is not yet aware that the situation is getting tense, and fast.

The numbers are clear. They show that Milei has managed to reduce inflation substantially, that he has cut public spending and eliminated the fiscal deficit, that he has tempered the scourge of drug trafficking in the third-largest city in the country and put an end — at least for now — to the protests that stormed the streets. But the country’s economic recovery is not in sight and the rates of poverty, indigence, unemployment, and insecurity are getting higher and higher, as are the costs of public services, fuel and tolls, and taxes.

These problems have begun to impact Milei’s social support and public image. For the first time since he took office in December, more Argentines have a negative image of his government than a favorable view. And things will get worse before they get better. Because no one expects the economy, which fell six percentage points in recent months, to have a V-shaped recovery. The curb will look more like the Nike logo. And, on top of that, officials have already confirmed that they expect “scheduled power outages” over the summer.

That would not be, of course, the best scenario for the president who defines himself as one of the two most important leaders in the world, behind only Donald Trump. Heat, humidity and energy collapse could lead to an explosive cocktail, even more so when electricity bills are up to seven times more expensive than they were a few months ago. And the Casa Rosada can explain that investments in infrastructure take time and that it inherited overwhelming problems — which is true — but society is beginning to demand solutions from Milei, not from those who left office almost 10 months ago.

We must remember that 1.5 million people became poor in Mauricio Macri’s first nine months in office and that Alberto Fernández was the worst president since the return of democracy, but Milei plunged 5.5 million people into poverty in just six months. And he did so by breaking his word. Because during his campaign, he promised that the economic adjustment would target “the political caste.” Then, in his inaugural speech as president, he corrected himself and said just “the caste” would feel the brunt of the measures. But this was not the case: it fell on society, including retirees, and less so on the businesspeople who benefit from government-granted privileges.

Milei does, however, benefit from two key assets. First, that society realistically assumed that we were living in a fantasy supported by rampant debt, and that this must end. Second, that there is no alternative. There is no opponent of any political ideology — be it Kirchnerism, radical or conservative — that society considers an option. Between nothing and the libertarian with the outlandish hairstyle, let’s continue with Milei.

But the first libertarian president in Argentine history should not believe that he has a blank check to do what he wants just because he lacks political rivals. Milei is, in spite of himself, a public servant, even if he invokes the “forces of heaven.” A public servant who, shortly after his own officials announced that almost 53% of Argentines live in poverty, strolled through the Casa Rosada with the former starlet Susana Giménez. Just what someone who belongs to the caste would do.

Both when he took office in December and when he opened the sessions of Congress in March, Milei was very clear. He anticipated that very hard times were coming, typical of an inevitable shock, and that 100 years of decline would not be reversed overnight. But patience at some point, sooner or later, runs out.

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