They’re going to bail out their good pal Milei for his re-election by propping up his disastrous economic policies.
Mr. Milei describes himself as a radical libertarian and since taking office in late 2023 he has introduced policies to curb fiscal imbalances and inflation by slashing government spending and reducing subsidies.
But Mr. Milei has suffered setbacks of late, including a double-digit defeat in provincial midterms; a corruption scandal over medical contracts tied to his sister, Karina Milei; and three congressional votes that overturned his vetoes and restored funding for public health and education. He argued those measures threatened the fiscal balance that he promotes as his signature achievement.
Earlier this year, Mr. Milei loosened Argentina’s currency controls but this month its central bank aggressively sold foreign currency reserves to support the peso, which has been declining sharply.
Last week, Argentina’s central bank spent more than $1 billion to shore up the peso and keep its exchange rate with the dollar below the ceiling set earlier this year in a $20 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Argentina’s economy has been screwed up for many decades. Milei’s “solution” is making it even worse than it was, the people are suffering and they are fighting back. But he’s a big pal of Trump’s so the U.S. will step in to help him stay in power. As Bloomberg reports:
Bessent’s plan would mark an extraordinary turnabout for a US president who was elected on a promise to limit American military and financial interventions overseas in favor of focusing on domestic concerns. Since taking office, Trump has slashed billions in foreign aid and cut or suspended military assistance for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. But in the case of Argentina, Trump appears to be coming to the aid of a leader whom the administration views as an ideological ally.
That’s ok. We’re saving so much by taking away health care, food stamps, cancer research, and more from Americans that this is easily affordable.
We’re talking about this guy:
He’s a real sweetheart.