Javier Gerardo Milei is Argentina’s new president and he has proposed far-reaching reforms that will require 35 years of implementation.
President-elect Javier Gerardo Mancera has proposed far-reaching reforms that would take up to 35 years to put into practice. These include reducing government spending, eliminating the central bank, and giving up control over the railways, airlines, and oil companies.
Mancera was elected in Argentina’s 2023 presidential election, prompting many to ask what the president-elect’s political program and ideas are. The main ideological provisions of the program were included in a document submitted by Mancera’s party to Argentina’s Electoral Chamber, which was necessary for the liberal economist to run for the presidency.
He defines liberalism in the first paragraph, which he frequently repeats in interviews and public speeches: “Liberty is the total respect for the life of others, founded on the principles of non-violence and the safeguarding of the right to life, freedom and property.
The fundamental institutions of liberalism are markets, freedom from government control, freedom of competition, the division of labor, and social unity.” After an in-depth analysis of the state of the country, ‘la Libertad avanza’ suggests a three-stage reform that will last 35 years.
The first stage involves “deep cuts in government expenditure and tax reform to reduce taxes, increase labor flexibility for the creation of private sector jobs and unilateral openness to international trade,” which will be followed by a process of tax reductions and liberalization. The second stage is financial reform that encourages the establishment of free and free-controlled banking, as well as free competition in foreign exchange.
When it comes to economic policy, the document outlines some of the immediate steps that could be taken once the government under Javier Milei is in place.First, the document states that the government will “eliminate ineffective government expenditure” and “optimize and reduce staff.”
Miley has said that if he is in power, he will cut government expenditure by 15 percent of GDP and reduce the number of government ministries.The program also outlines some of the ideas that the government plans to implement to reduce the over-staffing of the civil service. These include “voluntary retirement,” early retirement, and labor and service contract revision for low performing employees.
In terms of economic reforms, the document focuses on the “privatization” of “unprofitable State-owned enterprises.” The list includes the following:Conicet (Instituto Nacional de Inteligencia y Tecnológica de Inteligencia)Inca (Instituto de Investigación y Comunicación de Inteligencia de Inteligencia (Incepción y Logística)Ferrocarriles Argentina (Ferrocarriles Argentine Railways)Aerolíne.
Paragraph 14 in the “Agricultural and Fisheries” section calls for “special treatment” for the maritime and river sectors through concessions and even privatization. In the “Security” section, the platform proposes “building of correctional institutions (Police Stations and Prisons) based on public-private management.”
It also plans to “explore the possibility of reducing the age of criminal liability, which is currently 16 years old.” The platform also calls for the restructuring of the “National Defense, Homeland Security, and National Intelligence Systems” into one macro-system, known as the “National Security System”.
The platform’s position on firearms ownership is clear in paragraph 17 of “Security”: “We support the legal and responsible use of guns by citizens.” The first priority in the “Labor Reforms” section is to “pass a law on employment contracts that does not have retroactive effect.” The main reform is to “abolish compensation without cause and replace it with a system of unemployment insurance to avoid litigation.” The second priority is to “reduce taxes on employers to work.”
On the labor front, it promises “tax cuts for workers that would also cut taxes for their employers,” in line with the program’s repeated mantra of eliminating or reducing taxes. Generally, it means “partial tax evictions and tax cuts to encourage the growth of productive activities performed by private enterprises and to promote the export of products and services,”
