By Amit Bhandari
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has been described by Leftist media in colorful terms as ‘madman’, ‘far-right’, ‘Argentina’s Trump’, and similar adjectives.
While global media may disapprove of Milei, it is understandable why Argentinians voted in an outsider who wanted to shut down the Central Bank and use the U.S. dollar as currency. One of his first big moves has been to devalue the Argentine Peso by over 50% against the U.S. dollar to bring the exchange rate in line with reality – a move described by external observers as shock therapy[1].
Prior to the devaluation, the market rate of the U.S. dollar to the Argentinian peso was 900, while the official rate was 360 pesos to the dollar. Inflation currently stands at 135% and GDP has fallen by 2.5% in 2023[2]. These are signs of economic failure.
However, these problems are not new. This movie has played repeatedly in Argentina........