Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo says President Javier Milei “will win the 2027 election by a landslide in the first round.”
Speaking during an interview with Cadena 3 Argentina, Caputo drew a distinction between the Milei’s administration’s current management of the economy and that of former president Mauricio Macri’s government, in which he also served as a top-level official.
“Many people make the mistake of linking this government to Macri’s simply because it was not Peronist. This government, in terms of economic policy, is not only different from Macri’s – it is the opposite,” Caputo said, nailing his colours to the mast.
“I have never seen a case more opposite to Macri’s and there probably are no two more opposite cases than Macri’s and this one. Macri inherited a fiscal deficit very similar to the one President Milei inherited, and the deficit remained untouched during the first two years,” he added in conversation with anchors on the ‘Economía de Quincho’ programme.
Caputo continued: “He did not carry out the correction that I explained in my first speech was the root of Argentina’s problems, which was the fiscal deficit.”
Caputo also argued that “today you see euphoria about investing in the real economy – that is the virtuous part of this model,” while “there is zero euphoria in finance.”
“Under Macri it was exactly the opposite,” he stressed during an interview with Damián Di Pace, which also featured contributions from economists.
“There is no reason to keep thinking that if you do things properly, as they are being done now, things will end badly. But naturally Argentines think they will end badly because they always have. That is the part that is incredibly difficult for us because we inherited the worst economic situation in history and we lack the basic raw material any policymaker needs, which is credibility,” he said.
“Any economy minister or Central Bank governor in any country has credibility. Argentina does not. And thirdly, people think in terms of the past,” he analysed.
The minister insisted that “the strongest recovery will begin around May or June.”
“First, the disinflation process continues. Then the 9,000 kilometres of roads and highway corridors come into operation. Those projects are already getting under way,” the minister recalled.
Caputo also said that people holding US dollars “under the mattress” were “losing money.”
“If you keep your money earning five percent because you prefer a Treasury bond, that is your choice. But keeping money under the mattress is bad for everyone.
“The capital markets lose the fundamental resource needed for those savings to be channelled into investment. Ultimately, investment is what will generate growth and jobs,” Caputo said.
Finally, the minister expressed great optimism about the future, predicting that President Milei would easily win the next election.
The President “will win in the first round by a landslide in 2027,” said Caputo, who argued that a “populist-communist” alternative is no longer a viable option for society.
– TIMES/PERFIL
