{"id":145892,"date":"2026-04-17T15:21:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/?p=145892"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:22:22","slug":"mileis-radical-new-order-is-running-into-argentinas-old-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/2026\/04\/17\/mileis-radical-new-order-is-running-into-argentinas-old-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Milei\u2019s Radical New Order Is Running into Argentina\u2019s Old Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

President\u00a0Javier Milei\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0radical free-market overhaul of Argentina is running into the same problems that plagued the political old guard he vowed to overthrow.<\/p>\n

Corruption allegations. Legal setbacks. Economic malaise. Dismal polls. Any one of those would be a blow to Milei\u2019s agenda to restore the fortunes of what was once one of the world\u2019s richest nations. But taken together, they represent a threat to his 2027 re-election and his ability to finish his self-described \u201ceconomic-shock therapy\u201d for a country that has been a fiscal basket case for decades.<\/p>\n

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\u201cArgentines have been uncharacteristically patient, but that patience is running low,\u201d said\u00a0Benjamin Gedan, the director of the Latin America Program at the Stimson Center.<\/p>\n

Milei has delivered sweeping spending cuts, lowered inflation and stabilized the currency, but voters have yet to see the benefit, Gedan said.<\/p>\n

The wild-haired libertarian\u2019s popularity is now at the lowest level of his presidency. His approval rating fell to 36.4% at the end of March, a 10-percentage-point drop from a year earlier, according to the AtlasIntel pollster. Low salaries and unemployment are the top concerns.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/picture><\/figure>\n

A shopper counts Argentine peso bills at a supermarket in Argentina.<\/span>\u00a0Agustin Marcarian\/Reuters<\/span><\/div>\n

While Milei still stands a good chance of winning re-election in next October\u2019s presidential vote, polls suggest that reflects a weak opposition rather than confidence in his administration. About 53% of Argentines said they want a change of government next year in a recent CB Global Data poll.<\/p>\n

Milei has urged the public to stay the course. \u201cWe know these past few months have been tough,\u201d he wrote last week on X. \u201cWe must persist: to normalize the economy and, with it, the lives of all Argentines.\u201d<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t only Milei\u2019s free-market experiment at stake. Ahead of Argentina\u2019s October 2025 midterm elections, President Trump\u00a0extended<\/a>\u00a0Argentina a $20 billion currency-swap lifeline, betting that Milei\u2019s success could bolster pro-market allies across Latin America and counter China\u2019s influence in the resource-rich region.<\/p>\n

Countries including Chile, Paraguay and Ecuador have already shifted right, while conservative challengers are preparing to unseat left-leaning incumbents in elections in Brazil and Colombia this year.<\/p>\n

Milei moved quickly once in office, signing dozens of decrees to shrink and deregulate the state in one of the most rapid budget turnarounds in the history of emerging markets. Public spending fell by about 30% in real terms, and annual inflation, in triple digits when Milei took office, is now close to 30%.<\/p>\n

Oil-and-gas production has surged in Argentina\u2019s massive Vaca Muerta shale formation, while mining, particularly lithium and copper, has attracted fresh investment and brought in much-needed dollars through exports.<\/p>\n

But those gains have done little to lift the domestic economy. Investment in job-creating sectors such as manufacturing and services remains weak, and unemployment has risen.<\/p>\n

Argentina now resembles \u201ctwo different economies living in one,\u201d said\u00a0Mauricio Monge, senior Latin America economist at Oxford Economics: a fast-growing export sector alongside a stagnating domestic one. Inflation, while sharply lower, is still high by international standards.<\/p>\n

Some economists say Milei may have initially focused too heavily on inflation to secure support in last year\u2019s midterms. Milei\u2019s refusal to let Argentina\u2019s peso weaken too much for fear of stoking inflation kept the country\u2019s exports relatively expensive, hurting competitiveness and ultimately growth, said Monge.<\/p>\n

But much of Argentina\u2019s current economic pain is to be expected, said Monge. The deep structural reforms the country needs take longer to deliver results than any presidential term. Austerity is rarely popular, so Milei must persuade voters of its necessity before they feel its benefits\u2014a task that depends heavily on maintaining public trust in his government.<\/p>\n

Corruption allegations, therefore, couldn\u2019t have come at a worse time.<\/p>\n

A scandal involving a cryptocurrency known as $Libra resurfaced in recent weeks, raising fresh questions about Milei\u2019s role in promoting the digital coin that soared in value after he endorsed it on social media in February last year. It crashed hours later, wiping out millions of dollars in investors\u2019 funds.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors are investigating whether the incident was part of an insider-trading scheme, naming Milei as a person of interest. Milei has said he was merely highlighting a private initiative and had no direct involvement. He hasn\u2019t been charged and is shielded from arrest while in office.<\/p>\n

Phone records published recently show multiple calls between Milei and\u00a0Mauricio Novelli, a lobbyist behind $Libra, on the night of the currency\u2019s launch, suggesting closer coordination than previously acknowledged.<\/p>\n

The records, earlier reported by Argentina\u2019s La Naci\u00f3n and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, show calls that same night between Novelli and\u00a0Karina Milei, who is the president\u2019s sister and closest confidante.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Libra case will likely keep resurfacing in the coming weeks and throughout Milei\u2019s tenure, as it is one of the few issues on which the opposition has a specific and public line of attack against him and his inner circle,\u201d said\u00a0Rafael Ch\u00a0at Signum Global Advisors, a political-risk advisory firm.<\/p>\n

Milei\u2019s chief of staff,\u00a0Manuel Adorni, is also under investigation in a separate probe over alleged illicit enrichment and the misuse of public funds.<\/p>\n

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\"Argentine<\/picture><\/figure>\n

Manuel Adorni, center, and Karina Milei, the president\u2019s sister.<\/span>\u00a0Tomas Cuesta\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n

For many Argentines, corruption ranks low among immediate concerns. Polls show many ordinary workers care far more about wages and jobs.<\/p>\n

But any sign of political weakness can revive investor fears of a return to the Peronist opposition and its interventionist policies.<\/p>\n

Opposition from unions and the courts has also slowed Milei\u2019s agenda. While he pushed through early measures by executive decree, the rest of his reform program depends on Congress, where he lacks a majority despite strong midterm results.<\/p>\n

Milei has sharpened his political instincts, securing his biggest\u00a0legislative win<\/a>\u00a0in February when the Senate approved sweeping labor changes, including extending the workday to 12 hours from eight. He also pushed through a contentious\u00a0glacier law<\/a>\u00a0last week opening parts of the Andes to copper mining.<\/p>\n

But there are limits to governing without broad political support, analysts say. A federal labor court suspended swaths of the new labor legislation. While legal experts expect the suspension to be lifted, the delays add to legal uncertainty that deters investment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President\u00a0Javier Milei\u2019s\u00a0radical free-market overhaul of Argentina is running into the same problems that plagued the political old guard he vowed to overthrow. Corruption allegations. Legal setbacks. Economic malaise. Dismal polls. Any one of those would be a blow to Milei\u2019s agenda to restore the fortunes of what was once one of the world\u2019s richest nations. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"novedades-gapp-noticias":[],"lineas-trabajo-noticias":[],"industrias-noticias":[394],"mercados-noticias":[1358,425],"class_list":["post-145892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","industrias-noticias-oil-gas","mercados-noticias-america-del-sur","mercados-noticias-argentina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145893,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145892\/revisions\/145893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145892"},{"taxonomy":"novedades-gapp-noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novedades-gapp-noticias?post=145892"},{"taxonomy":"lineas-trabajo-noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lineas-trabajo-noticias?post=145892"},{"taxonomy":"industrias-noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industrias-noticias?post=145892"},{"taxonomy":"mercados-noticias","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gapp-oil.com.ar\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mercados-noticias?post=145892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}