MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

CFK claims Milei's model is on the brink of collapse

Half of Argentines are falling into debt just to eat, CFK argued from her house arrest

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) said in an audio recording from her house arrest played during the bank workers' La Bancaria union’s National Congress that President Javier Milei’s economic model was “unsustainable” and “on the verge of collapse.”

She cited a substantial deficit, driven by imports, foreign travel, and debt payments, while highlighting the Libertarian Government's inability to fully renew peso indebtedness or secure a better financial rating.

CFK also underlined that over 50% of Argentine families struggle to make ends meet, resorting to debt for basic needs, not luxuries, describing the microeconomy as a “social tragedy.”

She linked her imprisonment to her opposition to Milei’s policies and reaffirmed her candidacy for a Buenos Aires legislator position.

Despite the Milei administration's financial hardships, Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos ruled out a possible devaluation, attributing the deficit to capital goods imports for a growing economy and emphasizing the government’s commitment to preventing inflation.

The National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) reported a US$5.19 billion deficit in the first quarter of 2025, largely due to a negative trade balance.

“It is precisely in these days that we are seeing more than convincing signs about how unsustainable the model is. It is not an ideological exercise, it is not a merely political stance, it is simple and absolute pragmatism about the things that are happening,” CFK warned.

She insisted that “this economic model is falling” and that the signs thereof were “more than overwhelming.” In her view, the unfeasibility stemmed from “simple and absolute pragmatism regarding the things that are happening.”

“There are two Argentinas: one that travels abroad and the other that does not make ends meet,” she also pointed out.

The former head of state noted that Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo “did not get the financial rating to continue indebting the country” as per MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), which left the country in its high-risk zone.

The Justicialist (Peronist) Party leader insisted that Argentina's macroeconomy under Milei “does not add up” and that “the micro-economy is a social tragedy,” with Argentines falling into indebtedness not “to travel or to buy a little house or a little car, but to eat.” With this government, US$4 billion “has gone up in smoke,” she further assured.

“If we have a growing economy in the order of 6% compared to the previous year, clearly that growth demands investments, and investments in capital goods are part of those dollars that have left the country,” Francos argued in response.