BUENOS AIRES (The Thursday Times) — Argentine President Javier Milei said on Saturday that he will seek re-election in 2027, ending doubts over whether he would stand for a second term.
Speaking at the opening of an exhibition in Buenos Aires, Milei addressed those who had doubted his plans. “For all those who doubt that I will run for re-election: yes, I will run for re-election,” he said. He added that “we have a lot to do to make Argentina great again”, echoing the slogan of US President Donald Trump, a close ally.
Goals for a second term
According to reports of the speech, Milei said his aim is for Argentina to trade with about 90 percent of the world’s countries. Government figures cited in those reports put the share at around 30 percent now, up from about 10 percent when he took office in December 2023. He also said he would keep cutting taxes.
He pointed as well to deregulation, citing a reform of the glaciers law that he said would let mineral exports grow twentyfold, and the repeal of the rent law, which he described as the removal of price controls.
A polarising record
Milei’s austerity programme, symbolised by the chainsaw he has brandished at events, has cut public spending, debt, inflation and regulation. Inflation has eased and the public accounts are balanced, but many people have lost their jobs and subsidies for energy and public transport have been cut.
Milei argues that Argentina grew steadily poorer and more isolated in the decades before his government, and that the economy is now growing again.
