Argentine President Javier Milei’s radical economic policies have resulted in an economic miracle despite gloomy predictions from economists, academics and political opponents. Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with President-elect Trump after the November election, and has also been encouraged by Elon Musk at X and in person at Musk’s headquarters in Texas.

Milei’s star continues to rise.

“What President Milei has done economically in Argentina is nothing short of a miracle,” Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society, told FOX Business.

“In less than a year, he was first able to prevent the country from going into a spiral of hyperinflation because when he took office in December 2023, the country was days or weeks away from going into hyperinflation. So took some immediate actions, then focused on reducing spending, then focused on balancing the budget, and by mid-2024, significantly curtailed inflation to stabilize the Argentine economy”.

ARGENTINA MILEI ELIMINATES DEFICIT, LIKED AS MUSK’S “DOGE” MODEL

Argentina’s President Javier Milei poses for a photo next to Tesla’s Elon Musk, left, at Gigafactory Texas on April 12, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Presidency of the Argentine Nation/Handout/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Milei administration implemented strict austerity measures, including major cuts to public spending and subsidies. These actions led to a substantial decrease in monthly inflation, from 25.5% in December 2023 to 2.7% in October 2024. The Argentine peso strengthened against the black market dollar, indicating an increase of confidence in the national currency. This appreciation reflects the positive reception of Milei’s economic policies by the financial markets.

Martín Menem, president of Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies and vice president of Milei’s political party, La Libertad Avanza, told FOX Business: “Today we have a fiscal surplus. We have lowered inflation. The economy is expanding. Credit poverty is Real wages are recovering month by month We are reducing taxes every day we are getting closer to our goal, which is to rebuild the nation and the prosperity of Argentines.

“To have these results that we have never had, we are doing what has never been done before. The results show that President Milei’s way is working. We have come to put an end to the decline that generates the fiscal deficit, and we will work every day to deregulate the economy to return to the path of growth”.

Despite these successes, challenges persist. Austerity measures have led to an increase in unemployment and poverty, with more than half of the population affected. In addition, the economy It is projected to shrink by 3% in 2024, indicating that while stabilization efforts have yielded positive results, structural problems remain. These are some of the reasons why experts and economists still question Milei’s achievements, contrasting them with narratives and policies they see as contradictory.

A woman holds a sign with the words ‘Milei get psychoanalyzed’ as part of a national protest to defend public education against President Milei’s severe budget cuts on April 23, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Ricardo Ceppi/Getty Images/Getty Images)

FOX Business contacted two sources who signed a letter signed by 108 economists critical of Milei’s economic platform published before the country’s election. Economist Pablo Bortz told FOX Business: “After re-reading the letter we signed, I stand by my position on the letter, noting that the government abandoned the idea of ​​dollarization.”

Another signatory, economist Matías Vernengo, said: “I maintain my position in the letter I signed because I believe it is essentially correct. Inflation has accelerated after Milei’s devaluation. It remains to be seen the sustainability of the relative stability of the nominal exchange rate”.

Roberto Cachanosky, an economist who was not part of the letter, told FOX Business: “The most contradictory thing about Milei’s speech and his politics is that, in his speech, he always maintained that the state is his enemy. That he must not intervene in the economy that the prices must be free and that the state steals with taxes.

“Also, as a deputy, he said that taxes were an obstacle to slavery. The reality is that his pro-market speech ended with a BCRA (Central Bank of Argentina) that not only intervenes in the interest rate and left exchange controls, but also maintained exchange controls throughout this year, which is a real confiscation of exporters”.

ARGENTINA’S JAVIER MILEI FLIPS INFLATION ON ITS HEAD EVEN AS POVERTY GROWS

Presidential candidate Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza lifts a chainsaw next to Buenos Aires province candidate for governor Carolina Piparo of La Libertad Avanza during a rally Sept. 25, 2023, in San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images/Getty Images)

Milei’s government announced that of Argentina first budget surplus in 14 years on Friday, giving the self-styled libertarian another big win. However, criticism of some of his policies remains.

Political analyst Antonella Marty told FOX Business: “Despite promises of reform, the much-touted adjustment aimed at the so-called ‘political caste’ under President Javier Milei has failed to materialize. Instead, his administration is full of unqualified officials, relatives and operatives of social networks tasked with promoting a moral and ideological agenda This agenda, often framed with a deeply religious and messianic tone, centers on a personalistic model where dissent is not tolerated those who question the leadership are quickly expelled from the fold.

“The weight of government adjustments has fallen disproportionately on the private sector, which faces heavier taxes and reduced real wages. Since Milei took office, the private sector has lost 166,000 jobs, while the public sector has seen 64,000 layoffs.This has created a bleak scenario for consumption and poverty across the country.For example, meat consumption: a basic cultural aspect: has been reduced by 11% and 71% of families can no longer afford traditional asados.

The Argentine president, Javier Milei (Daniel Bockwoldt/Photo Alliance via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Economist Diego Giacomini recently told FOX Business: “Milei says he will return competitiveness to the private sector over time by opening the CEPO (allows the free movement of capital) the day the exchange gap and inflation tend to zero. Today the exchange rate gap is 3% and, according to the latest data, we are already there, and the CEPO has not yet opened”.

“In the end, economics will not be something distinctive of Javier Milei. As someone who uses and exploits the word freedom, absolutely everything he does in ethical, philosophical, philosophical-political terms, is at the antipodes of classical liberalism. For so, when things go wrong economically and socially, it will be the fault of classical liberalism and freedom”.

While some experts suggest that President Milei’s policies have defied some initial economic criticism by achieving significant fiscal and monetary improvements, the current social costs and economic challenges suggest a complex and nuanced outcome.

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Milei, who arrived in Washington this weekend for Trump’s inauguration, met with the elected president in November at the America First Policy Institute gala, where Trump congratulated the Argentine “for the work you’ve done for Argentina … Make Argentina great again.”

“I think President Milei pulled off what many thought was impossible. He was able to turn the economy around at least in the positive direction,” Humire said. “There is a lot to do. It needs to get rid of currency controls, attract more investment and increase the purchasing power of the Argentine peso. It is very difficult to come into office with a high approval rating and then maintain the high level of ‘approval. all during the first year, most presidents of the world have decreased a little at the end of the first year.

Reuters contributed to this report.