Market Volatility Comes at the Worst Time for Argentina’s Milei
Forget tête-à-têtes with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Argentina’s President Javier Milei needs to use a new IMF program to fix the country’s economy and fortify his administration.
Phone home, Javier.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images North AmericaJavier Milei faces challenging days.
A series of political defeats, unforced errors and negative financial turns have put Argentina’s fierce president in the most delicate moment of his 16 months in power. A misguided January speech in Davos and a crypto coin scandal in February were followed by an embarrassing defeat in congress last week, when the opposition shot down his two nominations for Supreme Court judges. The vote found the libertarian leader in the US, where he was trying to meet President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a glossy Mar-a-Lago event as global markets melted. But the encounter never happened and Milei returned to Buenos Aires without the coveted photo — but with fresh questions about his time-consuming international excursions. Cringey!