La Derecha Diario Javier Milei is the president with the lowest salary in South America.
On the contrary, the highest-paid leaders are those aligned with the left
A recent report on presidential salaries in South America shows that the Argentine leader, Javier Milei, is the head of state with the lowest salary in the region. Meanwhile, the presidents with the highest salaries are those aligned with the left.
Milei, despite leading one of the largest countries, is the president with the lowest salary in South America. His monthly income amounts to just 22% of what his highest-paid counterpart, the leftist Uruguayan Yamandú Orsi, receives.
According to official information, Milei receives 4,066,018 Argentine pesos, which at the official exchange rate equals 3,141 dollars. This places him in last place in the regional ranking, even below countries with smaller economies such as Paraguay or Bolivia.
The decision stems from a measure adopted by the leader himself when he took office at the end of 2023. At that time, through Decree 235/2024, he froze his salary as of December 31 of that year, canceling all increases.
A striking fact is that, had the adjustment been maintained, Milei would be receiving around 5,022 dollars per month. However, the libertarian leader decided to cut any increase in his own remuneration as a gesture of austerity amid his successful economic adjustment plan, which avoided hyperinflation and achieved a major economic recovery.
Milei's decision is part of his government's strategy to demonstrate a strong commitment to reducing public spending and to set an example from the presidential office.
The salaries of other presidents
The most evident comparison arises with Uruguay, a neighboring country, where the leftist president Yamandú Orsi has a salary of 570,000 Uruguayan pesos, which represents 14,245 dollars per month. Consequently, the gap with his Argentine counterpart is 11,104 dollars, meaning that Milei earns less than a quarter of what the Uruguayan leader makes.
Brazil holds another prominent place in the table: The socialist dictator Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva receives 46,366.19 reais, which equals about 8,530 dollars. In Paraguay, meanwhile, the presidential salary also received an increase this year of 1,242,465 guaraníes, reaching 3,556 dollars per month, which places the Paraguayan president above Milei, although still far from the amounts seen in Uruguay or Brazil.
In this context, Milei's status as the president with the lowest salary in South America has become an example of his austerity rhetoric, aligned with the policy of public spending adjustment he is implementing in Argentina.
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