President Javier Milei spoke this Friday at the 47th Annual Convention of the Argentine Institute of Executives in Finance (IAEF), held in Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, where he was responsible for closing a day that brought together business leaders, economists, governors, and various officials from the national government.
The presentation comes after a week marked by an intense presidential agenda and just a day after the national broadcast on the Malvinas, in which Milei announced new measures to strengthen the defense of Argentine interests in the South Atlantic. Before executives from the financial sector, the president now refocuses on the economic direction, the recovery of public credibility, and the reforms promoted by his administration.
The president reiterated his defense of the continuity of the economic program and assured that he will not modify fiscal or monetary policy for electoral reasons. “I didn’t come here for the bronze,” stated the President, who insisted that his commitment is to “finally put an end to the damn inflation” and anticipated that he will maintain fiscal balance and a restrictive monetary policy until that goal is achieved.
“The first libertarian liberal president in history had to come to restore public credibility, because it is necessary to get our country back on its feet,” Milei affirmed during his presentation. In this context, he stated that Argentina has accumulated 27 months of growth and reaffirmed that there will be no relaxation of the monetary program in the lead-up to the election year. “I will double down on my orthodoxy,” he assured.
Milei also connected economic performance with Argentina's ability to gain international weight. “The expansion of exports allows us to play in geopolitics and advance in the claim for the Malvinas,” he proposed to the business leaders, while highlighting the role of investments driven by RIGI to strengthen the country's strategic position.
The President thus resumed one of the key points from the national broadcast on Thursday and stated that a more economically, commercially, and financially capable Argentina also has more tools to defend its interests on the international stage. In this line, he linked the growth of exports and the arrival of investments with a greater negotiating capacity regarding the historic Argentine claim over the Malvinas Islands.
The president referred again to the Malvinas issue
Milei also rejected calls to relax monetary policy and stated that there is still a surplus of pesos that requires maintaining discipline. “It has been almost twelve months since the monetary base changed. And yet, inflation still persists; that is, there is still a monetary surplus,” he explained. He argued that a looser policy could once again accelerate prices and jeopardize the stabilization process.
The president also defended the need to institutionally safeguard economic reforms to prevent future governments from reversing the course. In this regard, he mentioned the independence of the Central Bank, the restrictions aimed at preventing the return of fiscal deficits, and the modifications promoted through Fiscal Innocence II. “We need to build solid institutions that maintain the change over time,” he stated.
Referring again to the Malvinas, Milei insisted that economic growth is part of a broader strategy to increase Argentina's international weight. “Investments in strategic sectors allow us to be an important geopolitical player and enable us to advance in our claim of sovereignty over the Malvinas,” he expressed.
The President also contrasted his government's program with the proposals of the opposition and specifically questioned Kirchnerism. “On the other side are the orcs, there is evil, decay, backwardness, and their proposal is to do what made us poor and decadent,” he declared before the executives.
In another part of his presentation, Milei defended economic openness and used the case of Lumilagro as an example of a company that managed to adapt in the face of a more competitive environment. “It was, it reorganized, and it went out to compete,” he noted, asserting that the government's goal is to move towards an economy where companies improve their productivity instead of relying on protection schemes.
