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Milei says “There is no Plan B”: What else did the President tell the WSJ?

Milei also pointed out that Argentina's history was riddled with Plan Bs of doing things only halfway right

Argentine President Javier Milei underscored in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published on Sunday “the speed” at which his government was “achieving results” and warned that “there is no plan B to do things right.”

Milei also said that the transformation he seeks to implement may take up to two years, even though “we ourselves are surprised” by the speed at which results are being achieved.

“It is true that we would need investments, because one of the things that happens is that, when you make a fiscal adjustment, you increase savings. If these savings do not have an investment counterpart, there is a fall in economic activity, a fall in employment, and a fall in real wages,” Milei also explained.

Argentine President Javier Milei’s moves to privatize state companies and slash government jobs are sparking inflation and protests. In an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, he insists there’s “no plan B.” https://t.co/94KvVCiAWm pic.twitter.com/iNinHvgwz4

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 28, 2024

The president also pledged to privatize as many State-owned companies as soon as possible, “but there are institutional restrictions.”

He also mentioned that Argentina was nearing a point where the economy could be dollarized with “very little money.”

“We have always talked about a free competition of currencies, whatever the Argentines choose. It is likely that, at an initial moment, they will choose the dollar,” he argued.

Milei also pointed out that Argentina's history was riddled with Plan Bs of doing things only halfway right. He also ratified his decision not to be aligned with Communist China and stay out of BRICS but insisted that trade should not be affected because it was “basically a private decision.”

“We may have a difference with the United Kingdom regarding the Malvinas Islands. However, this does not prevent us from having a set of adult commercial relations,” he elaborated. Argentina is the UK’s 66th largest trading partner.

With British Foreign Secretary David Cameron “we have decided to have an adult relationship in which we can participate and work together in the international agenda and start talking about our territorial differences,” he explained regarding their meeting earlier this month at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

“While both Cameron and Milei publicly “agreed to disagree” over the [Falkland] Islands, privately the Argentine president is expected to leave the matter simmering on low heat while he tackles painful economic challenges,” London's Express pointed out.

“The aim now, Whitehall sources say, is for Britain to do what it can to help Milei reach his economic targets, giving him less reason to 'press the Falklands button',” it went on.

The Libertarian leader also ratified his country's support to Israel against Hamas: “We have decided to condemn the terrorist acts of the Hamas group, we have decided to show solidarity with Israel and its inhabitants, regardless of their nationality.”