Less than half a month after he was sworn in, the "three fires" of the new Argentine President Milley shocked the world: Argentina took the initiative to devalue the official exchange rate of the peso by 54%, and then closed 9 of the 18 government departments. On the evening of the 20th local time, Milley announced 366 reform measures in a televised speech, including the repeal of more than 300 existing Argentine laws.
Observers believe that the "shock therapy" launched by Milley is too rapid, and it will have a strong impact on the social economy and people's lives in the short term. According to statistics, about one-seventh of the properties in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, are idle, and many poor people are forced to sleep on the streets without renting a house. This is precisely the result of the sharp depreciation of the exchange rate.
Argentines who cannot afford to rent a house sleep on the streets
In response, a large number of people in Argentina took to the streets to protest, with one protester saying: "The country seems to have regressed to the time of the military government." "For a country where 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and inflation topped 160 percent in November, the hard days may have just begun.
The new president announced:
The country enters a "state of public emergency"
In a televised address on the 20th, Milley announced that Argentina has entered a "public emergency in economic, financial, fiscal, administrative, pension, tariff, health and social affairs" that will last until December 31, 2025.
Milley argues that to lead Argentina out of the great crisis of the previous government, it is necessary to rebuild the country's legal system and "dredge all the oppressive legal provisions again." To this end, he announced the repeal of a large number of regulations that "distorted and suppressed the supply of goods and services," advocated economic liberalization, and created new laws to make it easier for private companies to go public.
Milley also said he did not believe that previous failures were due to the overall quality of the nation. "The problem is not the chefs, it's the recipes, and the ideas that make Argentina's socio-economic failures are also prevalent around the world, and what we need to do is to break down that mindset and let the individuals who make their own decisions take control of how the economy runs. ”
However, local media reported that after Milley's speech, residents could be heard banging pots and pans in their homes all over Buenos Aires as a way for Argentines to express their displeasure.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest
Older people lament "social regression"
Led by a number of social activist organizations, tens of thousands of Argentines held their first large-scale demonstration since the new government came to power on the 20th to oppose the Milley government's policy of drastic cuts in public spending. Milley's newly appointed security minister just last week introduced a bill to maintain public order, allowing the military and police to stop demonstrators from holding disruptive roadblock protests, and said those who block the streets could lose their right to state benefits. In this regard, some social organizations believe that the bill undermines citizens' right to protest.
The leaders of the protest groups said that this was a peaceful mobilization and that they did not want any type of confrontation and conflict. The day's protests did not lead to violence, but there were small and sporadic clashes, in which two people were detained.
There were sporadic clashes between protesters and police
The banner of the parade read "Milai the crook" and "money should be used for education, not for the IMF" and other phrases. Catarina, a teacher from the suburbs of Buenos Aires, said, "The situation in public schools is hopeless. Some children are starving and go to school hungry. And the situation will get worse when Milley comes to power, because after the currency depreciates, food prices will skyrocket. "November of this year, the last full month of former President Fernández's presidency, Argentina has an inflation rate of 160.9%, but official forecasts for 2024 will reach four figures, a world record.
An elderly demonstrator said he felt as if Argentine society had regressed to the dark days of military rule.
The depreciation of the exchange rate makes landlords "reluctant to rent"
About one in seven housing in the capital is idle
According to data calculated by the Cedesu Research Center in Argentina, there are about 1.586 million homes in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, and about 22.6 are idle this year. That figure jumped 14 percent from the same period last year and jumped 57 percent from five years ago. Data obtained by the Cedesu Research Center from Argentina's National Energy Regulatory Center shows that the houses are clearly uninhabited with electricity consumption below the minimum required to keep a refrigerator running.
Levi, a 36-year-old office clerk, said renting an apartment in Buenos Aires is now almost an "impossible task". According to a real estate agent, the Argentine peso's exchange rate has depreciated so rapidly that many landlords are reluctant to sign normal rental contracts, because the rate of rent increase is far from keeping pace with the currency depreciation. Some landlords ask for US dollars, but it is difficult for ordinary people in the middle and lower classes to exchange for US dollars at the right price, and only those few who "have channels" on the black market, as well as "digital nomads" who live in Argentina and work for European and American companies, have the opportunity to rent in US dollars.
Levy, the renter, said that his previous lease was signed in 2021 and expired in February this year, with a monthly rent of 46,000 pesos. Nowadays, if you want to rent a room that is about the same or slightly better, the rent has risen to 400,000 pesos. Levy's monthly salary is 250,000 pesos, and if he were to exchange it on the black market, he would only be able to exchange it for $250, because the Argentine peso has fallen by about 70% against the dollar in the past year. Whether it's in the Argentine currency, the peso or the dollar, it's even more difficult for an average person like Levy to afford the rent of a decent room for an average person with no "channels".
Red Star News reporter Zheng Zhi integrated CCTV news and reference news
Editor: Zhang Li, Editor: Feng Lingling
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