Argentina's Milei defends radical austerity plan
By Ione Wells
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has denied that it is ordinary Argentines who are paying for his radical austerity measures.
In a BBC interview, Mr Milei, who campaigned with a chainsaw to symbolise his desire to slash public spending, insisted that the political class were paying for his huge cuts, not the people.
The right-wing economist was voted in after years of high government spending and high debt.
Inflation is now starting to fall after it initially soared when he took office in December, but it remains the highest in the world annually.
The president’s critics argue millions of Argentines are paying the price for his austerity programme.
In the five months since he was sworn in, he has slashed public sector jobs, energy and transport subsidies, and the value of the currency so people’s money is worth less than it was.
Meeting him for the interview in his presidential office, there were clues to his unconventional political background as a celebrity TV economics pundit: a photo of the Rolling Stones (he was in a tribute band), a bust of himself on the desk, a toy model with a chainsaw, and a water bottle with a photo of himself on it.
