Argentine President Milei says zero deficit is a must

BUENOS AIRES

Argentine President Javier Milei has presented his 2025 budget to congress, with the libertarian promising to veto any law that threatened his strict goal to reduce the country's budget deficit to zero.

"We will veto all the bills that threaten the fiscal balance, because we will not be accomplices in swindling the Argentine people," he said.

Since taking office in December, the budget-slashing Milei has applied a drastic austerity program in a bid to rein in chronic inflation and decades of government overspending.

Congress was half empty, with a number of opposition members skipping what they called a "staged" event.

Milei's party is in a minority in the legislature and divided.

While the president has faced setbacks in some of his budgetary policies, he notched a victory last week when lawmakers upheld his veto of a bill to increase pensions.

Under Milei's reforms, inflation for August stood at 4.2 percent, the fourth consecutive month under five percent and a massive drop from the 25.5 percent recorded in December.

Year-on-year inflation however was still sky-high at 236.7 percent.

Critics say the steep drop in inflation and other apparent economic wins have come at the cost of the poor and working classes, and due to a strangling of the economy.