In the context of his tour of the United States for the UN General Assembly, the leader spoke at the conference "Western Values, Economic Freedom & Strategic Security"
In a forceful presentation that reaffirms Argentina's geostrategic alignment with free powers, President Javier Milei led the international conference organized by the Federalism and Freedom Foundation and the International Republican Institute. During his speech, the president acknowledged the growth of these institutions in the unyielding defense of the ideas of freedom.
He also outlined the roadmap of his administration based on three central pillars: Western values, economic freedom, and strategic security to "recover the greatness of our nations".
As he delved into his model, Javier Milei defined economic freedom as "the free exercise of the right to property, that is, the right of people to produce, trade, save, and invest without a bureaucrat deciding for them what they can or cannot do with what is legitimately theirs".
The Head of State contrasted this vision with Argentina's recent economic history, marked, as he stated, by strong state intervention through taxes, regulations, and legal unpredictability.
As an example, he recalled the Rent Law and highlighted the results of its repeal through Decree 70/23. “The result was striking because the number of rental properties increased by 300% and the price in real terms fell by 30%,” he asserted.
He also explained that artificial price fixing ultimately reduces supply and particularly affects lower-income sectors, based on what he termed the “short arm hypothesis”.
Milei defended the economic results of his administration
During another part of the conference, the President stated that his administration received “perhaps the worst critical situation in Argentine history,” with severe monetary imbalances and a Central Bank with negative net reserves. He claimed that the reduction in inflation allowed returning to Argentines the equivalent of USD 100 billion and asserted that his Government managed to lift 14 million people out of poverty.
He also defended the adjustment of public spending and stated that the economy managed to recover despite the magnitude of the fiscal correction. In this context, he criticized Peronism for its current criticisms of the economic situation. “That was the country we received, not the fairy tale that Peronism wants to sell us today in Argentina. You listen to them, and it’s as if they had handed us Switzerland; it’s irritating,” he claimed.
While Kicillof is in New York, there was an attempted robbery and shooting at a bank in La Matanza
The president also made a reference to the governor of Buenos Aires Axel Kicillof, who is in New York with his own alignment to the international socialism, while discussing the evolution of country risk.
“Country risk went from three thousand basis points to five hundred,” Milei noted, before joking about the fluctuations of the indicator when opposition leaders make statements abroad. In that segment, he again used the term “Kuka risk” to refer to the impact that, according to his interpretation, political expectations have on the markets.
Malvinas, reforms, and artificial intelligence
The President also resumed the Argentine claim for the Falkland Islands, one of the topics he had developed hours earlier before the United Nations General Assembly.
Milei emphasized that the development of Vaca Muerta and economic strengthening allow for advancing with complaints, fines, and sanctions against companies operating without Argentine authorization on the continental shelf. “The defense of sovereignty, when backed by an economy, ceases to be just a claim in international forums and becomes a policy with real consequences,” he maintained.
Additionally, he anticipated that his Government would seek to deepen reforms if it manages to expand its representation in Congress during the upcoming legislative elections.
Toward the end of his presentation, Milei again referred to artificial intelligence and questioned regulatory attempts based on fear of technological advancement. “They scare us with Terminator to submit us to Big Brother,” he stated, before contrasting the Western perception of robots with other cultures and joking about his desire to have an Optimus, the humanoid robot developed by Tesla.
