Javier Milei gave a speech at the Council of the Americas 2026: "The movie is the best in Argentine history"

The president Javier Milei participates this Thursday in the 23rd edition of the Council of the Americas in Argentina, which is taking place at the Alvear Palace Hotel in Buenos Aires. The meeting brings together national officials, governors, business leaders, and representatives from the private sector to analyze the political and economic outlook of the country. Among the speakers were the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo; the Chief of Cabinet, Diego Santilli; the Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno; and the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger.

Milei delivered a live speech to the participants of the meeting, one of the main presentations of the day. The annual conference of the Council of the Americas, organized together with the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), focuses on the Argentine economic and political scenario and brings together representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as investors and business leaders.

During his presentation, Milei also highlighted the figure of wholesale inflation for July, which stood at 0.8%, and recalled that months ago he had anticipated that the index would start with zero during the second half of the year. The President emphasized that his forecasts always referred to the wholesale level and questioned economists and journalists who had doubted his prediction.

"No matter how much the media and economists dislike it, if they review my statements, I always said the same thing about wholesale inflation", Milei stated. He then emphasized that the latest record released by INDEC already showed that dynamic: "Inflation, not for August, but for July, started with 0, being 0.8%".

Based on that result, the president also revisited a promise he had made months ago and announced that he would hold a new concert to celebrate that wholesale inflation fell below 1% monthly. "I should fulfill the promise that if it started with 0 in August, I would hold a concert", he noted during his speech.

When someone from the front row indicated that they were already working on organizing the event, Milei responded: "Ah, you are working on that, so I will do another concert. I will have to find time to rehearse, but I will do it". The comment came amid a presentation where the President once again defended the results of his economic program and confronted those who had questioned his projections regarding the slowdown in prices.

In another part of his presentation, Milei defended the growth model based on competition and the free allocation of resources, and again questioned protectionist policies. He explained that when the State seeks to artificially sustain companies that are losing competitiveness, the cost ends up being passed on to consumers through higher prices and lower quality goods.

"If they start wanting to protect those whom consumers have already punished, and arrogantly punish consumers, the cost is losing growth", he asserted. The President pointed out that, in an economy without artificial barriers, it is natural for some companies to disappear while other activities expand as conditions and consumer preferences change.

Milei also addressed the demographic evolution of the country and harshly criticized the movement that pushed for the legalization of abortion. "We are paying a very high price for the madness of the green handkerchiefs", he stated, linking the decline in birth rates with future difficulties in sustaining population growth and the pension system. "This passion for killing children in the womb also costs us dearly in terms of growth and the pension system", he added.

During his defense of capitalism, the head of state also praised entrepreneur Elon Musk, whom he presented as an example of innovation and value creation. "What is the problem with a company making money?", Milei posed, before highlighting his connection with the founder of Tesla and SpaceX: "I have great admiration for Elon Musk. He told me that every day he wakes up thinking about what problem he can solve for humanity".

The President took the opportunity to provide an assessment of his administration. After comparing the inflation levels received and delivered by different governments, he claimed that his administration managed to reduce inflation by 85% and maintained that the mandate received at the polls had two central priorities: stabilizing prices and recovering growth. "I fulfilled my promises halfway through my term", he stated.

Looking ahead to the political scenario, Milei expressed his confidence that Argentines would support the continuation of reforms and rejected a potential return of Kirchnerism. "I continue to place my trust in Argentines who do not want to return to the past and do not want to become Cuba", he expressed. Although he acknowledged that there are still numerous problems to solve, he maintained that the direction taken by the Government is changing the country's outlook: "There is still a long way to go, the picture is still horrible, but the movie is the best movie in Argentine history".

Finally, Milei closed his speech by reaffirming the principles that, he claimed, should guide political and economic decisions. "The problem is not economic, it is moral. If we embrace Judeo-Christian values, we will take measures that are just, and the counterpart of that is progress and well-being", he concluded to applause from the audience, bringing his participation in the 23rd edition of the Council of the Americas to a close.