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Post by Admin on Nov 20, 2023 1:42:52 GMT
(CNN) A presidential runoff election was held in Argentina in South America on the 19th, with leftist Sergio Massa admitting defeat before the election results were officially announced, and far-right liberal Javier Milei winning.
In a short speech, Massa said, ''Mr. Milei has been elected president for the next four years,'' and revealed that he had already called Mr. Milei to congratulate him.
With the victory of Milei, who ran a campaign criticizing the establishment, Argentina, which suffers from one of the world's highest inflation rates, is expected to move further to the right.
Mr Milei and Mr Massa have fundamentally different visions for Argentina, and opinion polls have shown them at even odds in recent weeks.
Milei, who called herself an "anarcho-capitalist" and brandished a chainsaw at rallies as a symbol of her plans to slash government spending, gained support through a showy campaign. Milei's main policy is to adopt the US dollar as the country's currency, which is unprecedented for a country of Argentina's size.
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Post by Admin on Nov 20, 2023 5:15:48 GMT
Libertarian outsider Javier Milei pulled off a massive upset on Sunday with a resounding win in Argentina’s presidential election, a stinging rebuke of the traditional parties that have overseen decades of economic decline.
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Post by Admin on Dec 10, 2023 18:25:55 GMT
Watch live as Javier Milei is sworn in as Argentina's new president. He is expected to speak at the doorsteps of Congress.
Former TV pundit Javier Milei - nicknamed "the crazy" or "the madman" by his followers - stunned political experts when he was elected the new president of Argentina last month.
The 53-year-old right-wing populist - also known as a fan of Al Capone - won 56% of the vote to complete a journey which started in 2020 when he entered politics and promised to "blow up" the system.
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Post by Admin on Dec 13, 2023 5:22:45 GMT
New York CNN — Argentina will devalue the peso by more than 50% as part of emergency measures to help the nation’s struggling economy, the country’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced Tuesday.
The stark move changes the dollar conversion rate to 800 pesos per dollar from 365 pesos and comes just days into President Javier Milei’s term.
Milei campaigned on a pledge to get rid of the peso and replace it with the dollar in order to get the economy back on track. The peso has been artificially supported for years by strict capital controls, and its value has plunged roughly 52% this year against the US dollar.
Argentina’s central bank in recent years has printed more of the peso to help the country’s government avoid defaulting on its debt. That has resulted in skyrocketing prices.
The move marks the first of several steps to tamp down that hyperinflation, which led Argentina’s central bank in October to raise its benchmark interest rate to 133%.
Caputo on Tuesday reiterated Milei’s campaign theme that “there is no money” as he outlined other measures, including a cut to new public works projects, plans not to renew labor contracts that have been in effect for than one year and reducing energy and transportation subsidies.
“For a few months we’ll be worse off, particularly with inflation,” he said.
Regarding public works, Caputo said that “there’s no money to pay for works that often end up in the pockets of politicians and business people.”
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday following Caputo’s remarks that it supports the new initiatives.
“IMF staff welcome the measures announced earlier today by Argentina’s new Economy Minister, Luis Caputo. These bold initial actions aim to significantly improve public finances in a manner that protects the most vulnerable in society and strengthen the foreign exchange regime,” Julie Kozack, IMF director of communications, said in a press release.
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