The Argentine Ministry of Economy announced that the government recorded its first surplus in nearly 12 years in January, while new President Javier Mele continues to press for spending cuts.
The government said January was Milley’s first full month in power after taking office in December, and he ended with a positive public sector finance balance with a $589 million surplus at the official exchange rate.
The figure includes interest payments on public debt.
The Ministry of Economy added, according to what was reported by the official Telam news agency, that this “fiscal (monthly) surplus is the first since August 2012, and the first January surplus since 2011.”
Milley is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund over his country’s $44 billion loan, and has pledged to achieve balance in public finances this year.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Friday on the X platform that “zero deficit is non-negotiable.”
Milley, an economist, has called for sharp spending cuts and public debt reduction on the way to dollarizing the economy.
After a 50 percent devaluation of the peso, the lifting of price controls and an increase in interest rates, Argentina saw an inflation rate of 20.6 percent for January, with an annual rate of 254.2 percent.
The year 2023, the last year of the center-left government of Alberto Fernandez, ended with an inflation rate of 211 percent.
With poverty affecting 45 percent of the population, Milley predicted an economic recovery within three months.
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