MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei says Argentina is 'diametrically opposite' to the country he inherited in 2023

Milei reviewed what he considered the achievements of his administration and asked the governors present to “renew their votes” and ratify the Pacto de Mayo

Argentine President Javier Milei said on Thursday that the country is “diametrically opposite” to the one he inherited when he took office in December 2023, during the vigil marking the 210th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, held at the Historic House in San Miguel de Tucumán.

In a speech broadcast nationwide after midnight, Milei reviewed what he considered the achievements of his administration and asked the governors present to “renew their votes” and ratify the Pacto de Mayo, the ten-point agreement he signed with provincial leaders in 2024 that underpinned much of his austerity program. “Argentina today is diametrically opposite to the Argentina we inherited two years ago,” he said.

The event, attended by thirteen governors regarded as allies, served as a gesture toward the provinces whose backing the government needs in Congress to pass a new round of reforms. Among its immediate legislative priorities, the government cited a political reform that would eliminate open primaries, changes to the cold-zone energy subsidy scheme, and a bill on the inviolability of private property. “I thank the governors for rising to the occasion when history demanded it,” said the president, who governs with one of the smallest parliamentary blocs for a ruling party.

Milei framed his administration as a “second independence” and drew parallels with the 1816 struggle, saying his government took on the commitment to “free the Argentine people from the tyranny of the omnipresent state.” He claimed to have carried out the “largest adjustment” in Argentine history, sustained a fiscal surplus for more than two years and averted hyperinflation, and said the country had regained international standing.

The governors of the most populous districts did not attend, among them Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires province), his main opponent, Jorge Macri (City of Buenos Aires), Martín Llaryora (Córdoba) and Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe). Of the eighteen leaders who signed the Pacto de Mayo in 2024, several did not take part in this gathering.

The event came weeks after the resignation of Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni amid an investigation into alleged illicit enrichment, an episode that hit the government and that the ceremony sought to leave behind in a kind of relaunch. Opposition sectors argue that the fiscal adjustment fell largely on the provinces themselves, which absorbed much of the cuts, and dispute the government's triumphant assessment. With an eye on the 2027 presidential election, in which he aims for reelection, Milei will need to broaden his provincial alliances.