Argentina

Voters do not like hypocrisy among their elected leaders; Milei faced a big political setback in March when he made himself vulnerable to exactly that charge. As part of his campaign to eliminate the fiscal deficit the new president imposed country-wide austerity including public sector wage restraint. There have also been deep cuts in the real purchasing power of pensions and other state benefits. The president has frequently said “there is no money” in response to calls to stop the fall in living standards. Yet, despite this, it emerged that Milei’s own salary had been increased by 48% from just over 4m pesos (US$4,704) a month in January to 6m pesos (US$7,056) in February. Similar increases were paid to ministers and other top officials. Members of congress in turn benefited from a 30% increase. This came to light after members of the hard opposition from the Peronist movement obtained a copy of a presidential decree, signed by Milei, authorising the higher rates.