The Chainsaw Massacre: Hailed and Reviled for His Deep Cuts, Argentina’s Leader Faces the Axe

Every week, seniors like Gabriela hit the streets of Buenos Aires to protest President Javier Milei’s cuts to government, spending freezes, and other austerity measures he has imposed to bring down Argentina’s debt and inflation and put the country’s economic house in order.  

They do so because their low pensions and high inflation mean they struggle to survive, they say. Sometimes, youngsters come, too, to protect them from riot police. Scenes such as these where frail octogenarians are manhandled by police officers in full riot gear don’t go down so well with the public, which is highly sympathetic to the protesters’ plight.  

“We have worked all our lives and have fought for our rights, and on top of that, they beat us,” Gabriela, a retiree, told the Associated Press. “They want us to die.”  

More than a year into Milei’s term, many Argentines across the generations are struggling. The poverty rate increased 11 percent in mid-2024 to a two-decade high of 53 percent, before falling recently to 38 percent.  

Seniors have been especially hit hard: Some of the biggest savings for the government came from holding down the real value of pensions. The average minimum monthly pension is just $300, and it has lost 22 percent of its purchasing power over the past year. As a result, it buys very little these days because of how expensive Argentina has become, with consumer spending falling 20 percent over the past year. 

Even so, economists and business folks say the tough medicine of the self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” who rode to power in 2023 promising to “blow up” the central bank, punish elites, axe a bloated government, and defeat sky-high inflation is working.  

Argentina’s monthly inflation rate dropped from 25.5 percent in December 2023 to 2.7 percent in October 2024. In annual terms, that means an inflation rate of 211 percent in 2023, one of the highest in the world, fell to 66 percent a year later.  

Also, bonds have rallied, economic growth has inched upward after multiple contractions, and the country has seen its first budget surplus in 14 years.  

Meanwhile, Milei’s approval rates have not bottomed out. Argentines may not like the bitter medicine, but they like its effect, analysts say, adding that many Argentines blame previous administrations for the high poverty rate.  

“He managed to persuade the people that traditional politicians are a corrupt class (who) seek to preserve their privileges at the expense of the people, and that traditional parties are responsible for all their problems,” Julio Montero of the University of San Andrés in Argentina told the Guardian. “So in spite of the economic crisis, many people see Milei as a messiah that is here to protect and represent them.”  

In fact, his economic measures have made such a difference that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently granted Argentina, which owes it more than $40 billion, another loan of $20 billion. Also, the World Bank recently announced a $12 billion support package for Argentina, and the Inter-American Development Bank said it will provide up to $10 billion in financing for the public and private sectors.  

The irony here, says World Politics Review, is that while most nations reluctantly impose strong austerity measures as a result of IMF conditions, Milei has gone even further than the lender would have asked, and ahead of the loan. 

“The International Monetary Fund has never dealt with a leader like Javier Milei: Argentina’s president has flipped the script on the international organization that is the lender of last resort for countries in crisis,” it wrote. “Usually, the IMF demands economic reforms and budget cuts. However, as it currently negotiates with its largest debtor, the IMF faces a country and a leader engaging in radical reforms that are moving faster than seems safe politically or economically.” 

Now, Milei is promising more pain.  

He lifted capital and currency controls this week to boost investment and growth, which could spike inflation again – already it has inched up slightly over the past two months, Reuters wrote.  

He told the public he wants another round of budget cuts.  

Unions and other protesters are still protesting the last round. Last week, they brought the country to a halt in a 24-hour strike to protest his “chainsaw” austerity measures. It was the third general strike in Milei’s 16-month-old presidency.  

The demonstrators say the cuts he has made to the government and to social spending over the past year go too far: He has slashed subsidies for transport, fuel, and energy that have increased electricity and gas prices by 430 percent. He has fired tens of thousands of public servants and shuttered entire government departments, causing a 5 percent spike in unemployment. He has also imposed wage and pension freezes below inflation. The pause on infrastructure projects has led to a 29 percent contraction of that sector. 

While economists hail his approach, politically, the president is “going through his toughest moments of his short but remarkable career yet,” wrote Juan Pablo Ferrero, of the University of Bath in The Conversation. 

In addition to regular and relentless protests, he’s facing pushback from Congress and calls for his impeachment. For example, earlier this month, the Senate rejected the two Supreme Court candidates he nominated by decree earlier this year, dealing a major blow to the president – he was hoping to fill the Supreme Court vacancies with appointees who would rule favorably on challenges to his economic reforms.

He’s also facing a cryptocurrency scandal known as “cryptogate” involving a highly speculative meme coin and his brief promotion of it before its value collapsed within hours of its launch. He’s now under investigation in corruption probes by the Office of Anti-Corruption, Congress, and a judge, as well as legal complaints of fraud.

He denies the charges, calling them politically motivated. 

Meanwhile, his approval ratings are also falling – from 54 percent approval in November to 43 percent in February, according to Americas Society/Council of the Americas. 

Still, in an interview with the Economist late last year, he pledged to stay the course, no matter how tough things get for his presidency or his people. 

Faced with impending disaster, swift and decisive action was the only way forward, he said.

“Nobody can be surprised by what I am doing, because I promised it in my campaign,” he added. “And I am doing it.”