Milei's Argentina faces legal battles, economic strain, and falling approval
Argentina's far-right, ultraliberal economist and leader of the La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances) party, who took office as president in December 2023, has defended his austerity policies while downplaying the country's weak economic performance in February, according to the latest official data.
Recent polls indicate that the president's negative image and public disapproval of his government have grown, partly due to the scandal surrounding his chief of staff, Manuel Adorni, who is under judicial investigation over property purchases and luxury family trips.
Milei, who has chosen to keep Adorni in his post despite the controversy, announced he will attend parliament next Wednesday, when the chief of staff presents the government's report to the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house).
"Manuel [Adorni] will provide the necessary answers. The judicial system is functioning calmly, and all procedures are being followed. That is why we are very confident," the Argentine president stated.
Beyond examining Adorni's travel expenses and assets, the judiciary is also reviewing a separate complaint regarding a trip his wife, Bettina Angeletti, took to the United States in March on an official flight as part of a presidential delegation.
On Thursday, federal prosecutor Alejandra Mángano requested that Judge Daniel Rafecas dismiss the criminal charges related to the trip, citing insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
In late March, Argentina's courts partially suspended President Javier Milei's labor reform, which had been approved by parliament in February. The ruling followed a legal challenge by the country's largest labor federation, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), which argues the law is unconstitutional.
The reform was enacted amid a backdrop of roughly 300,000 job losses in both the private and public sectors over the past two years, driven by declining economic activity and budget cuts that have helped slow inflation.
On April 9, the World Bank forecast Argentina's real GDP growth at 3.6% in 2026, a slowdown from the 4.4% expansion recorded last year. The country's economy contracted by 1.3% in 2024, the first year of Milei's presidency.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
