Milei announced in Argentina a historic financial surplus for the first quarter of 2024

Buenos Aires.- President Javier Milei boasted of an “economic miracle” in Argentina by announcing on Monday night a financial surplus in the first quarter of 2024.

“It is the first quarter with a financial surplus since 2008, it should make us proud as a country,” Milei said in a message on national television.

“The situation is tough, but we have already gone more than halfway,” Milei added before promising that “this time the effort will be worth it.”

Flanked by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, the president of the Central Bank, Santiago Bausili, and two other senior economic officials, Milei expressly referred to an “economic miracle.”

The announced financial surplus is 275,000 million pesos (regarding 260 million euros), which is equivalent to 0.2 percent of GDP, according to the Argentine president: “The fiscal surplus is the cornerstone from which we will build the new era of prosperity of Argentina (…). Having adjusted 13 points (of deficit) of those 15 in just three months of government is simply a feat of historic proportions worldwide.

«Every peso that is left over will be returned through tax reductions. Until Argentina has a level of public spending and tax pressure consistent with a country that seeks to grow,” he added.

Aware that the enormous increases in the prices of essential consumer goods and in the rates of public services are making many Argentines desperate, Milei dedicated a few words of encouragement and gratitude.

«None of this would be possible without the heroic efforts of the majority of Argentines who are suffering (…). “We must surrender at the feet of a people who have decided to abandon slavery and take the long road through the desert towards the promised land,” Milei wrote in his usual mystical tone, the same one with which he closed the message: “May God bless “Argentines and may the forces of heaven be with us.”

Milei’s message on the national network comes hours before a protest march that is expected to be massive in defense of public university education and its financing, which Milei’s opponents consider threatened.