Remarks by the President of Argentina Javier Milei | Global Conference 2024

Political Context and Credentials

• Javier Milei was elected President of Argentina with 14 million votes, the highest number in the country's history, just two years after entering politics.
• He assumed office with an annual inflation rate exceeding 200% and a poverty rate of 41%.
• Milei identifies as an economist, libertarian, and specialist in economic growth, contrasting himself with the "global trend" of collectivism.

Diagnosis of Western and Argentine Economic Trajectories

• Milei asserts the West is in danger because leaders have abandoned liberty for socialist policies, citing Argentina as a historical warning where collectivism has resulted in poverty despite 100 years of experimentation.
• He argues that free-market capitalism drove the "hockey stick" curve of per capita GDP, lifting 90% of the global population out of extreme poverty since 1800.
• He contrasts the US monetary base (multiplied by 16 since 1949) with Argentina's (multiplied by 25,000 trillion times in the same period) to illustrate the devastation of unchecked money printing.
• Milei characterizes current Western trends as a "self-repressive culture" that punishes merit to reward diversity and suppresses ambition through regulation.

Fiscal and Economic Achievements (First 5 Months of Administration)

• Argentina achieved a fiscal and financial surplus in the first quarter of the year, the first in 20 years, reversing a consolidated deficit of over 15% of GDP inherited from the previous administration.
• Inherited economic conditions suggested a potential hyperinflation of at least 15,000% if policies remained unchanged.
• Discretionary transfers to provincial states were cut by 76%, and public works projects were adjusted by 87%.
• The government eliminated 50% of political appointments, closed unnecessary agencies, and removed government advertising to reduce fiscal pressure.
• Inflation has declined consistently for the past four months following the implementation of a rate reduction policy without currency devaluation.
• Over 350 laws have been repealed via executive order, with a legislative package proposing 700 total structural reforms in fiscal, labor, pension, and tax sectors in the first five months.

Strategic Goals and Future Outlook

• The administration aims to reduce consolidated public spending to 25% of GDP, 10 percentage points lower than the US and half the level of France.
• Milei projects a period of "economic convergence" where Argentina could grow faster than developed nations due to the unlocking of previously repressed productive forces.
• Argentina holds comparative advantages in fertile land (no-till agriculture), lithium, silver, gold, copper, fisheries, and proximity to Antarctica.
• The country possesses top-tier human capital, being the Latin American leader in Nobel Prize winners per capita and the number of unicorns (startups valued over $1B) per capita.
• Milei estimates that 60% of the population can be lifted out of poverty through the growth generated by economic freedom and deregulation.

Call to Action for Global Investors and Leaders

• Milei invites global business leaders to invest in Argentina, positioning the nation as a "new Mecca of the West" and a safe, open hub for trade and capital.
• He urges a rejection of the "self-hatred" of Western history, arguing that the West must reclaim its pride in liberty, merit, and entrepreneurship to avoid regression.
• He frames the current moment as a unique "window of opportunity" for a "new gold rush," warning that the advantage will not last forever.
• Milei concludes with a direct appeal for global leaders to support the idea that free enterprise and the protection of life, liberty, and property are the sole paths to human prosperity.