Can’t Afford Groceries? Don’t Worry, Argentina is Getting a Bailout
While U.S. civilians struggle to make ends meet, the White House is offering aid to a foreign country that is also struggling after Trump-like austerity measures were enacted
There are obvious reasons why people, such as President Donald Trump, his White House staff, and his cronies, like Elon Musk, admire Javier Milei, the Argentine president. Milei, like El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, has implemented policies that are popular with the billionaires Trump has surrounded himself with, but not so popular with the people. Milei went all out in the same way Trump has, attacking Argentina’s education system, seniors’ pensions, and many social programs, including those that protect women, the LGBTQ community, and Indigenous people.
At the beginning of Trump’s current term, he employed Musk to target aid programs that assist the poor and needy, both domestically and internationally. Milei did the same thing, which is why Musk is an avid fan of Milei’s libertarian austerity measures. One could argue that this is where Musk and his advisors derived their ideas, which have led to mass firings, the shutdown of essential services, and a more isolationist approach to foreign policy. Despite economists’ warnings of the dangers of such moves, they were ignored by Musk, Milei, Bukele, and Trump.
Now, Milei is begging for assistance because, like everyone in Trump’s White House, he chose to ignore history and data. He ignored the disastrous effects that policies like those he proposed have had on various populations, from Europe to Asia to Latin America. Argentina, like most countries, isn’t in a position to rack up debt like the United States does. Because of that, the White House is offering a $20 billion bailout package for Milei’s self-inflicted economic disaster.
Circumvent Argentina’s Constitution? Milei did that. Ignore the courts? Milei did that too. Ignore Argentina’s Congressional power and unilaterally do what he wants? Milei has also done that. If you’re wondering why Milei considers himself an inspiration to Trump, look no further than what he’s done to the country. Now, he appears willing to sell the country’s resources, and therefore, Argentinians’ wealth, to bail himself out of the massive hole he dug to bury the country.
Mileii was elected in 2023 largely due to anger over Argentina’s economy and crippling inflation, two major issues he promised to fix. His solution was to cut programs that benefit the economy by increasing individuals’ spending power, an idea many libertarians can’t seem to wrap their heads around. Musk and Trump, like Milei and Bukele, act as if only they can solve problems.
What many who celebrate authoritarians seem to overlook is that those leaders do more to take people’s rights than they do to solve the biggest issues. We’re seeing that in the U.S. now. At the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump held a press conference to “endorse” Milei in Argentina’s next election.
Looking at Argentina provides a glimpse of where the U.S. is headed as these bigoted leaders imitate each other, including Viktor Orban in Hungary, whom many argue Trump is trying to emulate. Like Orban, Bukele, and Trump, Milei ran on an anti-LGBTQ platform and referred to gay and trans people as pedophiles. Once in office, Milei implemented policies that have significantly weakened LGBTQ rights and protections.
Milei has since shut down the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, leaving women who suffer from gender based violence without support, and wants to remove femicide from the Criminal Code. He has also repealed a law that protects Indigenous communities and cut funding for historical memory initiatives that oversee trials for crimes against humanity committed during Argentina’s military dictatorship, ending in 1982.
Argentina suffers from a poverty rate above 50% and more than 6 million people live in extreme poverty. According to data, 70% of children in Argentina live in poverty, with over one million of those going to bed hungry every night. Milei’s growing unpopularity also stems from a crypto pump-and-dump scheme earlier this year. Milei’s crypto was promoted as a way to help get people out of poverty. Instead, an estimated 200,000 smaller Argentine investors lost their life savings.
With the myriad levels of corruption and greed in the White House, along with that seen in the countries that the Trump administration supports, the level of malfeasance we are witnessing goes beyond bailing Milei out. As the corrupt bail each other out with U.S. tax dollars, taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet. In the end, U.S. corporate interests will profit from nepotism like this while we suffer and grapple to feed our families.
This is hardly an America First agenda.
I’m an independent investigative journalist who enjoys digging deeper into the stories you see on the news. Find my work at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Can't wait to be inspired by the coming Argentinian revolution!
What in the actual nightmare was that document that Trump gave to Milei? Was it a social media post screenshot??