MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei praises Minister Caputo and says 30% monthly inflation would be ”a great achievement”

Some “useful idiots” focus on the forms when the country needs a rapid response, Milei insisted

Argentine President Javier Milei praised Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo for his management of the country's inflation for December 2023 and said that if it reached 30% it would be “a great number” because previous estimates spoke of 45%.

Upon returning from Antarctica, Milei also admitted in a radio interview that 30% was “a frightening figure, of course, but we were expecting 45%; If we get it to 30%, it is a phenomenal achievement, we lowered a third in one month.”

“If we look at the first and second week of December, that placed the inflationary dynamics at 45% per month,” the head of state also explained.

The Economist Milei also reviewed current indexes and compared them with those of the 2001 crisis: ”Given the magnitude of the adjustment we are proposing, we need a quick investment response so that the damage is the least possible in terms of poverty and unemployment. Today we have more poor people, more inflation, and more unemployment than in 2001,″ he stressed.

According to private estimates, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December will be between 25% and 30%.

Asked if there is a risk of hyperinflation, Milei replied that “even though we are doing a phenomenal job, when Congress starts to do stupid things, it takes its toll. They did not support the bond bidding, and that caused the country risk to go up”.

“Politicians have to become aware that, if we do not do what we have to do, they will be plunging society into a huge crisis,” he added. “Let it be clear that they are the ones responsible. I did what I had to do: I sent the adjustment program, a very orthodox shock,” he elaborated.

Regarding any changes to his sweeping emergency decree (DNU) and the so-called Omnibus Law bill, Milei said that “we only accept suggestions for improvement.”

In Milei's view, the DNU “is an instrument that has been used by all governments and that is in the Constitution. They complain and attack it as unconstitutional when it is in the Constitution.”

“There are others who are useful idiots who focus on the forms, when in fact it is part of the dynamics,” he went on.