Milei defended the economic direction at the Winds of Change conference: “Informal wages are soaring”

President Javier Milei defended the government's economic direction on Wednesday during his participation in the Winds of Change conference, where he highlighted the evolution of informal wages, the generation of private employment, and reaffirmed that he will not relax the fiscal and monetary program for electoral reasons.

The president led the closing of the event organized by the Liberty and Progress Foundation, along with Reason Foundation and Archbridge Institute, which brought together liberal leaders for two days to discuss institutions, economic freedom, development, and perspectives for Latin America.

One of the central themes of the speech focused on the evolution of income. “Wages in the informal sector are literally soaring, outpacing inflation by more than 60%,” Milei stated. The President questioned the negative interpretations regarding wage performance and accused his critics of selectively choosing only those indicators that show unfavorable results.

"It's not that wages aren't rising. They are making a dishonest calculation. What they do is cherry picking,” he argued. He explained that these analyses focus on sectors facing difficulties and omit those that show expansion.

Milei also highlighted the performance of the labor market. According to his statements during the presentation, the economic model allowed for the creation of 500,000 jobs in the private sector and, when simultaneously considering the reduction of more than 70,000 public jobs, estimated that the private sector generated around 600,000 positions during his administration.

At the same time, he reaffirmed that the government will maintain its main economic pillars without modifications despite the start of the electoral cycle. “In light of the election year and with good intentions, many people want the fiscal and monetary program to be relaxed to ensure re-election,” he noted.

However, he rejected that possibility and stated that “the fiscal and monetary outcome is non-negotiable, because we will not stop until we completely defeat inflation.” In that sense, Milei insisted that “populism cannot be defeated by doing populism” and defended the protection of private property and individual freedoms as central limits of his administration.

The head of state also emphasized the growth of economic activity. He claimed that during the first two years of his government, there was an accumulated growth equivalent to 10 points and maintained that, if market projections for 2026 and 2027 are met, GDP could register a 17% expansion throughout his first term.

“Come and tell me that I don't know how to grow an economy now,” Milei exclaimed in response to those who had questioned the capacity of his program to boost activity.

Finally, the President linked the continuity of reforms to the 2027 elections and reiterated the need to deepen the program initiated in December 2023, without deviating from fiscal balance or the monetary policy aimed at ending inflation.