Argentine president Javier Milei had a lot to celebrate during his recent visit to Washington, DC.
While Americans deal with an ongoing government shutdown, mass federal firings, and looming safety net cuts that could plunge millions into poverty, the Trump administration pledged $20 billion to bail out Argentina’s flailing economy.
The timing couldn’t be better for Milei as he faces down an election later this month where economic distress is threatening to tank his party’s chances.
The massive infusion of dollars might calm some investors, but for Argentina’s working class the deal looks like another cynical political ploy in a long legacy of harmful foreign bailouts. President Donald Trump’s warning that the investment might not go through if “a socialist or a communist wins” in Argentina’s upcoming elections all but confirms the political motivations behind the bailout.
The United States wants news of the bailout to “calm the economic crisis and help politically so that there’s a relatively favorable result for the government that allows Milei to pursue structural reforms,” explains Julio Gambina of the National Coordinating Roundtable of Organizations of Retirees and Pensioners of the Republic of Argentina.
In the lingo of international finance, “structural reforms” or “structural adjustments” generally refer to privatization and significant cuts in social spending and public programs.
Milei’s tenure has been disastrous for Argentina’s pensioners. His structural adjustments have left the country’s retirees with…
Auteur: Chris Mills Rodrigo
