Highly conservative new Argentinian president Javier Milei stated bluntly, “Every single state company that I can sell I will do as soon as possible.”
Milei conducted an exclusive interview with Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker, who asked, “I want to know how long you think the Argentine people can wait to see signs that your plan is working.”
“They understand that this process can take about two years,” Milei, who promised to change the currency from the peso to the U.S. dollar and close the Central Bank, answered. “And even if there’s a warning sign, saying it is hard to bear the austerity for more than a year, the truth is that when we begin to see the way in which the data is flowing and how inflation is moving, we ourselves are surprised at the speed with which we are achieving results.”
“You were just in Davos, and your speech in Davos generated a lot of attention,” Tucker noted. “I want to know, what else do you need from your supporters beyond words? Is, for example, Argentina receiving new investments?”
“It is true that we would need investments because one of the things that happens is that when you make fiscal adjustments, you increase savings. If those savings are not paired up with investments, economic activity drops, followed by employment rates, and finally real wages,” Milei replied.
“Privatization. How quickly do you plan to move forward with your agenda?” Tucker asked.
“As fast as I can,” Milei stated. “Every single state company that I can sell I will do as soon as possible. The thing is that there are institutional restrictions.”
“Where will you start? With Aerolineas Argentas? The trains?” Tucker pressed.
“Whatever we can we will privatize. I mean, it’s not a question of naming which companies; it’s just a matter of technical constraints in terms of time,” Milei said. “In the last month, we bought $5 billion and the monetary base in Argentina is close to $8 billion, around $7.5 billion, so that if we finished cleaning up all the interest-bearing liabilities of the Central Bank, we would be able to dollarize for very little money.”
“Are you still thinking about adopting the dollar?” Tucker queried.
“In reality, we have always talked about a free competition among currencies. It’s a matter of what Argentines choose, and it is likely that at an initial moment, they will choose the dollar,” Milei asserted.
“Do you have a plan B?” Tucker asked.
“No. there is no plan B. There is no plan B to do things right. You either do things right or you do them right. Because if plan B is to start doing things halfway or compromise, that’s the story of Argentina, and that’s where we are now,” Milei told her.