Liberal economist Javier Miley, 53 years old, was sworn in ArgentinaPresident on Sunday.
He vowed there would be “no half-measures” as he faces decades of overspending, debt and complex currency controls in Latin America’s third-largest economy.
While taking the constitutional oath, he said, “I swear to God and the country… to perform with all sincerity and patriotism the position of President of the State of Argentina.”
Meanwhile, thousands of his supporters lined the streets in front of the Congress building in Buenos Aires, waving the country’s blue and white flag and chanting Miley’s “Freedom!”
“There is no substitute for shock therapy.”
After the swearing-in ceremony, Miley promised a new era for the country, but warned of painful austerity measures and an economic crisis that “will worsen” before it improves.
“Today begins a new era in Argentina,” he said, stressing that “no government has received a worse inheritance than what we receive.”
“The bottom line is there is no alternative to austerity and there is no alternative to shock therapy,” Milley warned, saying his predecessors had left the country without money and on a path to hyperinflation.
Miley faces enormous challenges
Argentina’s inflation rate has reached 140% year-on-year, and 40% of the population lives in poverty. Analysts have warned that foreign exchange reserves have been severely depleted, and the heavily indebted country has few options for borrowing.
Miley said that he plans a radical restructuring of the country, which is going through a severe economic crisis. During the election campaign, Miley warned against spending cuts equivalent to 5% of Argentina’s GDP.
He even said he would abolish the central bank Adoption of the dollar As a national currency due to very high inflation.
Guests from all over the world
Among the guests of the ceremony Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky And Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Miley spoke briefly with Zelensky on the steps of Congress, and the two men shared a warm embrace. The Ukrainian leader said on social media that he also held talks with the leaders of Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay as he sought to shore up support for war-torn Ukraine.
The right-wing former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, was also in attendance, as was Chile’s left-wing president, Gabriel Buric. However, leftists Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the current Brazilian leader, and Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador, were among the main absentees.
AED/NM (AFP, AP, Reuters)