Latest news with #Milei
Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Times
Javier Milei's chainsaw economics in Argentina could lead the way
You'll no doubt have noticed the growing buzz around Europe, thanks to a brighter economic outlook, Germany's decision to scrap its debt brake, and some tactical shifts away from the US. But there's another region that's been quietly catching investors' attention: Latin America. I believe the region could emerge as the unexpected economic winner of the next few years, and perhaps beyond. Regular readers will be familiar with Argentina's eccentric, chainsaw-wielding president, Javier Milei, who was my economic hero of 2024. Since becoming president in 2023, Milei has slashed burdensome red tape and bureaucracy, and rolled back unsustainable and unproductive spending, while implementing supply side reforms. The result has been an astonishing turnaround in Argentina's economic fortunes. 'Hyper-inflation' reduced to a mere 2.2 per cent as of February, with projected GDP growth of 5.5 per cent in the next year. It's no surprise, then, that Argentina-focused exchange traded funds saw record inflows in 2024, and emerging market debt funds have been hoovering up corporate and government bonds. But Milei is far from done. With inflation now under control, last week he scrapped reporting and tax rules aimed at unlocking a potential $200 billion injection in the domestic economy, consisting of the unofficial US dollar savings of ordinary Argentines. Previously, attempts to part with this cash were fraught with risk and would have seen individuals and businesses fall foul of strict protectionist currency controls. Now, individuals will be free to spend their dollars at will. Milei's model may masquerade as unorthodox. But chainsaw aside, it's the opposite — straight out of the 1980s Thatcher and Reagan playbook. However, it speaks volumes that, in a world of tariffs and unsustainable public spending in developed markets, Milei's Argentina is something of an outlier. Perhaps not for much longer. Not only are many Latin American countries finally addressing bloated public spending, but it seems that significant parts of the region are shifting in a different direction from most of Europe and the US, leaning towards hawkish, economically libertarian candidates who are unashamedly banging the drum for free markets. In Chile, Colombia, and Peru, all of which have presidential elections in the next 12 months, the frontrunners are fiscal conservatives. If the Milei model can be successfully applied across even just some of these countries, the economic bounty could be enormous, partly because the region has historically underperformed economically. Latin American countries often match or exceed their European peers in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures education, health, and life expectancy. Yet poor governance and economic policymaking have long blighted incomes and productivity levels, leading to the region's disproportionately low levels of economic development. In other words, these woes are a consequence of competence — or lack thereof — rather than structural, socio-economic challenges. It's these supply-side inefficiencies that the Milei model aims to address. While we remain a fair way off from Latin America becoming a genuine challenger to the likes of Europe, the optimist in me wonders if we're witnessing the start of the region's long-awaited and overdue economic coming of age. Moreover, with Europe showing few signs of addressing its unproductive public spending and bureaucracy, which continue to put a ceiling on its growth, and developed Asian markets grappling with the combination of ageing populations and substantial public debt, Latin America may end up being the unexpected winner of shifting investor appetites away from dollar-based assets. According to London Stock Exchange Group data, Latin American equity funds are up 24 per cent so far this year, which is in line with emerging Europe equities; the MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index is up 22 per cent. This is being attributed in part to US investors, who have historically been substantially underweight on emerging markets, taking advantage of discounted and fast-growing assets in countries like Argentina. For now, however, the Milei model remains an exclusively Argentine phenomenon. But even setting this aside, it's clear that the wider Latin American region has the attention of certain global investors — the question is whether this can be translated into sustained and substantial inflows, rather than tactical reallocations. At a regional level, this question depends on whether Milei's peers in neighbouring nations prove to be genuine, and whether they can effectively address public debt and productivity. But if even just a few Latin American countries were able to reach a benchmark with European nations that share similar HDI scores, in terms of GDP per capita, the economic gain could be as high as $5 trillion. While a big 'if', clearly, this would be transformative for the region and global capital flows. Seema Shah is chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management
Gizmodo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
RFK Jr. Poses for Weird Photos With Argentina's President as They Plot Alternative to World Health Organization
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a fringe anti-vaxxer who somehow became head of America's health agencies under President Donald Trump, met with the president of Argentina and discussed establishing a new alternative to the World Health Organization, according to a tweet from Kennedy on Tuesday. And while the substance of their meeting is important, all anyone can notice on social media is their bizarre photoshoot. Your eyes don't deceive you. That's the Secretary of Health and Human Services holding a chainsaw that belongs to Milei and reads 'las fuerzas del cielo' in Portuguese. Translated into English, it means 'the forces of heaven.' Milei, a far-right ally of President Trump, campaigned on promises to deliver austerity to his country and slash government spending, often wielding his chainsaw. And ever since, people who meet with Milei will often hold the chainsaw themselves. Billionaire oligarch Elon Musk waved the chainsaw around earlier this year at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where Musk looked absolutely blitzed out of his mind. That conference in February, it should be noted, was the same CPAC gathering where two other speakers (including Steve Bannon) did Nazi-style salutes that mimicked Musk's gestures on Jan. 20. It's particularly odd for Kennedy to be posing with a chainsaw, considering he was investigated for using a chainsaw to hack the head off a dead whale two decades ago. Kennedy's daughter described how the head was strapped to the top of the family car and said that whale juice was streaming down into the open windows. Kennedy called the investigation a weaponization of the government, and it was later dropped. Kennedy posted other photos from the strange meeting at Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Tuesday, including another where Milei is seated at the head of the table and the chainsaw is in the foreground. Needless to say, the vibes are straight out of The Shining. In another era, these photos would be mind-boggling and come to define the legacy of the politicians involved. But here in the year 2025, it's just another day that ends in Y. What did these guys actually discuss? Apparently the Milei and Trump governments want to create some kind of woo-woo public health body that competes with the World Health Organization. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the WHO on his first day back as the American president on Jan. 20, and and Milei followed suit on Feb. 5. 'I had a wonderful meeting with Argentine President @JMilei about our nations' mutual withdrawal from the WHO and the creation of an alternative international health system based on gold-standard science and free from totalitarian impulses, corruption, and political control,' Kennedy wrote. What makes the World Health Organization totalitarian? Kennedy doesn't get into specifics. But some far-right figures have claimed that WHO colluded with China to hide the 'real' origins of the covid-19 pandemic. The Trump regime's gallery of health-adjacent weirdos insist covid-19 was created in a lab and unleashed upon the world either intentionally or accidentally. Most scientists still believe covid-19 has natural origins. Kennedy has been busy in recent weeks, firing vital employees of the agencies he runs, including the FDA and CDC, and rolling out new policies. The health secretary was on a podcast Tuesday called 'Ultimate Human' where he suggested government scientists would no longer be allowed to publish in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet. Those are, of course, the most prestigious medical journals, but Kennedy called them 'corrupt,' according to Politico. Kennedy would instead like American scientists to publish their work in 'in-house' journals. As luck would have it, FDA head Marty Makary and NIH director Jay Bhattacharya recently launched their own medical journal called the Journal of the Academy of Public Health. Science magazine called the journal's editorial policies 'unusual,' and real scientists have noted the journal seems to be comprised of 'a small clique of contrarians around the COVID pandemic.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kennedy and Milei double down on WHO exit after meeting in Buenos Aires: 'Free from totalitarian control'
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday at the Casa Rosada, where both leaders reaffirmed plans to withdraw their nations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and build a new international health framework. The meeting brought together two strong-willed political outsiders. Milei, a libertarian economist known for cutting government spending, and Kennedy, a Trump-appointed health chief skeptical of pandemic-era mandates. Both promised to challenge what they call global overreach and politicized health policy. Argentina officially confirmed its exit from the WHO during Kennedy's visit, following Milei's initial announcement in February. The move aligns with President Trump's revived pledge to pull the U.S. out of the WHO as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) Rfk Jr. Flogs Who For Caving To China On Covid, Celebrating Pandemic 'Failures' In Stunning Video To Org Milei's government blasted the WHO for what it called a failed COVID response. "The WHO's prescriptions do not work because they are not based on science but on political interests and bureaucratic structures that refuse to review their own mistakes," the government said, referring to the group's lockdown strategy as a "caveman quarantine." Kennedy offered support, encouraging other countries to also exit the WHO in a recent address to the World Health Assembly. He has argued the organization is compromised by foreign governments and corporate interests, and that a fresh approach is needed. After the meeting, Kennedy posted on X: "I had a wonderful meeting with President Milei about the mutual withdrawal of our nations from the WHO and the creation of an alternative international health system... free from totalitarian impulses, corruption, and political control." Read On The Fox News App Both governments say the new alliance will prioritize real science, individual freedom, and national sovereignty, pushing back against what Milei's team calls "interference" from global Milei Shuts Up Critics With Miracle Turnaround Of Economy, Strong Security Policies The meeting also highlighted shared philosophies between the two leaders. Milei took office vowing to slash Argentina's massive public spending. He famously carried a chainsaw during his campaign to symbolize budget cuts—and has since followed through, cutting public salaries, halting state projects, and ending energy subsidies. His tough measures have produced results: Argentina posted its first budget surplus in nearly 15 years and sharply reduced monthly inflation. Kennedy's MAHA campaign echoes Milei's anti-establishment style, but in the health sector. The Trump administration's health agenda has focused on rolling back federal overreach, enforcing science-based policy, and promoting transparency in public health. Tuesday's meeting marks a deeper alignment between Argentina and the current U.S. administration. Milei has welcomed top American officials in recent months and shown clear interest in building strong ties with Washington. Now, by joining the U.S. in rejecting the WHO, Milei becomes the first foreign leader to openly back Trump's health sovereignty push. The decision is a major departure from Argentina's previous international partnerships and could signal a shift for other countries weighing similar moves. Both Milei and Kennedy have framed the initiative as the start of a more accountable and independent global health network. Critics, including some in Argentina's opposition, warn that leaving the WHO could limit access to funding and vaccines. Global health experts largely defend the WHO's role, despite acknowledging its COVID missteps. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for article source: Kennedy and Milei double down on WHO exit after meeting in Buenos Aires: 'Free from totalitarian control'
Nahar Net
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Nahar Net
Argentina's President Javier Milei to receive $1M Genesis Prize in Israel
by Naharnet Newsdesk 27 May 2025, 11:54 Argentina's President Javier Milei is headed to Israel. Milei was awarded the $1 million Genesis Prize in January in recognition of his support of Israel. After he postponed a planned visit in March, he is now set to receive the prize in a ceremony at Israel's Knesset on June 11 and deliver a speech to the Israeli parliament. Organizers say Milei will donate the prize money to launch an initiative aimed at improving diplomatic relations between Israel and Latin American countries and fighting antisemitism in the region. Prize organizers say they recognized Milei for reversing Argentina's long history of anti-Israel votes at the United Nations, designating the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups as terrorist organizations and reopening investigations into the bombings of Jewish and Israeli targets in Argentina in the 1990s. Milei also has pledged to move Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem — joining a handful of countries, including the U.S., to recognize the contested city as Israel's capital. The move is not expected to take place during his visit. Previous winners have included business owner and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actors Michael Douglas and Barbra Streisand, violinist Itzhak Perlman, sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor, filmmaker Steven Spielberg; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former Soviet political prisoner Natan Sharansky.
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Argentina ratifies WHO withdrawal during US health chief's visit.
BUENOS AIRES: Argentina has ratified its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and reaffirmed its collaboration with Washington, during a visit to Buenos Aires by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. The decision to pull out of the WHO was initially announced in February by Argentina's President Javier Milei, following in the footsteps of his US counterpart Donald Trump who had said in January the United States would withdraw. Milei's government justified its departure from the UN agency in a statement Monday. 'The WHO's prescriptions do not work because they are not based on science but on political interests and bureaucratic structures that refuse to review their own mistakes,' the statement said. Buenos Aires has previously accused the agency of 'disastrous' management during the Covid pandemic with its 'caveman quarantine.' The announcement came as Kennedy and Argentine Health Minister Mario Lugones met to define 'a joint work agenda that will strengthen transparency and trust in the health system.' 'Together with Robert Kennedy, we believe in the future of collaboration in global health. We have similar visions about the path forward,' Lugones said. Kennedy, a controversial Trump pick for health secretary given his vaccine skepticism, is also expected to meet with Milei during his visit. In a video broadcast at the WHO's annual assembly last week, he urged other governments to withdraw from the agency and create other institutions. In his speech, Kennedy alleged that the UN health agency was under undue influence from China, gender ideology, and the pharmaceutical industry The Argentine government also announced a 'structural review' of national health agencies to 'organize, update, and make transparent the structures and processes' of the health system 'that for years operated with overlaps, outdated regulations, and limited oversight.'
