(WatchDogReport.org) – Argentine President Javier Milei drastically rearranged the federal executive branch to reduce the number of cabinet-level ministries in Argentina from 18 to nine on December 10. The move represented Milei’s first executive action as president, fulfilling one of the main promises of his presidential campaign.
Most of the ministries he eliminated were officially folded into new offices, which suggests that their functions will remain but with a reduced staff and a smaller office. The Legal and Technical Office, along with the Office of Media and Communications and the General Ministry, were elevated to cabinet level. The new right-wing president put his campaign fixture and sister Karina Milei in charge of the General Ministry.
The libertarian leader made the elimination of half of the government’s central ministries one of his main promises throughout 2023. He has said in numerous interviews that Argentina is facing a severe economic crisis that could only be solved by taking “drastic measures,” including a massive reduction of the state, which he considers the “enemy” of the people.
Many political analysts in Argentina have said that while Milei’s success in reducing the size of the government is not a surprise, the speed at which the president executed his commitment was unexpected. Back in August, the right-wing leader said that while solving Argentina’s economic crisis would be a “hard task,” he noted that his measures would make that everyone in the country would be able “to produce.”
The South American nation is facing one of the worst economic crises in its history, with an inflation rate of 140 percent and massive unemployment and poverty. On numerous occasions, Milei has said that the country might be about to enter a hyperinflation period that needs to be prevented at all costs.
The new Argentine president is a prestigious economist who started to gain notoriety on social media and TV because of his rants against socialism and the way left-wing policies “destroyed” Argentina. Milei won the presidential election by becoming the most voted-for candidate in the country’s history.
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