“Today we are going to celebrate, but tomorrow we will start working first thing in the morning.” Javier Miley, Argentina’s president-elect, assured his followers on Sunday that he has no time to lose after his resounding victory over ruling party Economy Minister Sergio Massa by more than 11 points. At the Hotel Libertador in Buenos Aires, he met with his core and announced several appointments to his mini-cabinet of just eight ministries, as well as the first privatizations. However, he was unable to meet with President Alberto Fernandez this Monday as planned. They finally met on Tuesday at the presidential residence in Olivos.

As promised during the election campaign, Miley’s government has been reduced to eight ministries out of 11 in the current cabinet. That leaves the economy, foreign affairs (Diana Mondino), infrastructure, security, home affairs, defense, justice (Mariano Cuneo Libarona) and human capital (combines social development, health, work and education under the leadership of Sandra Pettovello). Economics has not yet been confirmed, it is a key ministry in a country with 142% annual inflation and 40% of the population living in poverty.

Former Central Bank President Federico Sturzenegger sounds decisive. He explained that he has not yet made it public because of the difficulties he faces in transferring power: “I still prefer not to name it (the name of the Minister of Economy) because the strategy of attrition on the part of the current government with regard to its successor, who accuses him of the aberrations he caused, then he is a scoundrel who has not been seen before,” the elected president said on Radio Rivadavia.

Before entering the Casa Rosada, he will travel to the United States and Israel, in this case for emotional reasons, he admitted. It is possible that the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem. His first international contact was with the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou. Relations with Lula da Silva will be tense: Miley called the Brazilian president “corrupt” and a “communist” in the election campaign, and an apology is being demanded from the Planalto Palace. Lula, a strong ally of Kirchnerism, will not attend the inauguration. There are currently no good wishes from the Spanish government for the elected president.

Javier Miley, who entered politics just three years ago, faces a herculean task: cleaning up Argentina’s shattered economy. He proposed dollarization and closing the Central Bank, but this must happen step by step. Most of Argentina’s population, with the exception of the Peronist militants, woke up Monday with a certain sense of relief. Having made a jump into the void, they were convinced that they were still floating.

“There is a slight sense of relief and moderate expectations. A society tired of grief chose change without much support. It doesn’t look inspired, but it does seem eager to get out of the trap into which Kirchnerist populism has led it. Will “Does Milea have the patience to survive what is coming?” says journalist and political scientist Jorge Segal from Buenos Aires.

The strong stock market reaction on Wall Street, where Argentine stocks rose more than 30%, gives hope to those who see the need for reboot what Miley promises.

Everything that can be privatized will be privatized.

Javier Miley, President-elect

Oil company YPF, which will be privatized, leads the growth with more than 38%. But YPF expects to pay about $16 billion for shares that were held by Repsol and the Eskenazi group as a result of expropriation by the Argentine government in 2012. state media, television, radio and Télam agency. “Everything that can be privatized will be privatized,” he confirmed after his election with an expression that was the slogan of Menemism.

“In addition to privatization, she needs to buy someone. She must get money to finance the country. Now she can return to the private financial market. There will be interested investment funds and, as we see from the message from Wall Street, there is confidence, but Argentina needs a lot of money,” says Francisco Sanchez, director of the Ibero-American Institute.

“The advantage is that financial actors perceive it favorably. The industries that are most concerned are those that have lived off government protectionism, such as textiles or the automobile industry,” says Francisco Sánchez. “The main thing is to stabilize the macroeconomy, which will help control hyperinflation. You need to cut costs and look for revenue. If you get financing, you can do it,” he adds.

Miley admitted that the fight against inflation will take 18 to 24 months. It must stop issuing money to finance the Treasury. It is extremely important to promote the budget program so as not to finance the budget deficit through monetary emission.

The president-elect needs a legislative majority to approve projects: he has only 39 seats out of 257, eight senators out of 72, and no governor. “He will have to negotiate with the PRO (former President Mauricio Macri’s party), provincial parties and even those sectors of Peronism that may be interested in abstaining from time to time,” says Sánchez.

The Political Cost of Adjustment

Sergio Massa, head of the economy department, said on Sunday that Miley would now have to take over and that he would leave his post rather than wait until Dec. 10, when the president-elect and his cabinet take office. In an interview with La Red radio, Miley said: “I don’t see in the government a desire to correct the imbalance, but rather an intention to leave all the bombs planted.” Peronism has collapsed and they are now counting the days to abandon ship.

The key question Miley wants to raise with the outgoing president is the political cost of the coming adjustment. To achieve this goal, seek Peronist support in Congress. Miley wants the 2024 budget to already include a 15% cut, but the outgoing economy minister appears reluctant to do so. It is amazing that now he wants to disappear from the scene, although he was president. de facto until he lost the second round on November 19.

Before coming to power on December 10, Miley will already have to solve at least six pressing problems, according to Ignacio Miri, in Clarion. First of all, he needs a budget approved by Congress, and hence his tension with the outgoing government, which does not want to take responsibility for its proposal for cuts. Secondly, he has the “dispersion of the opposition” against him, since both the ruling party and the conservative bloc are “in a state of collapse due to defeat.” Former President Macri’s PRO remains in part because his support for Miley produced results.

Third, you must realize that you need to negotiate. Fourthly, it lacks territorial weight. Fifth, it should negotiate with the IMF as soon as possible. Shortly after the president takes office, the due date for repayment of his debt, agreed upon by the outgoing government, comes due. “And the most pressing of all problems is the dollar dilemma and the inflationary outbreak that will occur when the prices that the outgoing government has stepped on are made public: fuel, utility rates, transport…”

Although Macri has made it clear that health and education will not be privatized, cuts in public spending will affect many people. In his speech, Miley made it clear: “There is no place for gradualism.” That is, he advocates radical measures. As journalist Jorge Lanata notes on Radio Miter, “the street is now the key. There will be problems with the street. We have to see how to deal with this. Just considering what’s already been announced, it’s a mess.”

In his first speech as president-elect, he made it clear that he would not tolerate anyone who broke the law. “Everything is within the law, nothing is outside the law,” he emphasized, veiledly hinting at those who encouraged violent protests. Peronism, although wounded, controls the streets. Despite this, now is the time for Miley, who will have to test against time whether his free formula will be successful in Argentina.