6 months ago: Argentina is seeing improvement in the economy, but seeing cuts in culture, science and education | amazing

Monday (10) marks six months since President Javier Miley took office in Argentina. During that period, he took strict measures to achieve financial balance for the country, which had been suffering from a crisis for many years.

In the first episode of the special report on the Miley government, shown last Sunday (2), Fantastico told how the Miley government applied a shock to the economy: by reducing subsidies, stopping all federal work, and blocking transfers of money to the states. He managed his first fiscal surplus since 2008, and monthly inflation began to fall – from 25% when he took office, to 8.8% in April.

The economy's numbers improved, but many sectors were affected by the cuts, such as culture, science and education. In the second episode, O Fantastico details these and other impacts caused by Miley's measures, and shows how part of the population reacted on the streets.

“The Official History”, “The Secret in Their Eyes”, “Argentina, 1985”. The first two won Oscars and the third was a finalist. They are all Argentine films. But this year, President Javier Miley decreed a significant reduction in public funds, and the artistic sector is in crisis.

“It's time for change,” says actor Ricardo Darin. “I hope a balance can be found.”

The star, who mainly works for foreign platforms, is not as affected by the Argentine president's policies, but says he is concerned about the scenario for the group and his colleagues in the audiovisual and theatrical industry.

In April, Javier Maile decreed the temporary closure of Argentina's National Film Institute, a government entity, on the grounds that he had not seen one of the films produced by the institute.

“It's not quite like that. In fact, some have been left in the dust, let's put it that way. But many others have succeeded,” says Ricardo Darin.

An example is “Simon de la Montaña,” which won the Critics' Week Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival and was backed by the Film Institute, which Miley has now ordered to close.

According to the country's Ministry of Culture, film festivals were held at the expense of thousands of children's hunger.

For Ricardo Darin, this statement is perverse and an exaggerated lie. According to him, the argument blames the sector and the mistakes of the management of the Film Institute for poverty in Argentina.

Withholding money for culture is part of what Miley himself calls a cultural battle. Frictions with science and universities also enter into this battle.

Even before the election, Victor Ramos, one of Argentina's greatest researchers, warned in an editorial for the scientific journal Nature that Miley posed a threat.

The then candidate “did not act rationally. He said rude things, tremendous things about science,” says the emeritus professor at the University of Buenos Aires.

He also froze the budgets of public universities and the largest federal research organization, CONICET.

But the students did not let go, and about a million of them took to the streets.

At universities, the reality is already reflecting the cuts. To save electricity at the University of Buenos Aires, only one elevator operates in the Faculty of Medicine.

In defense of public education, young people took to the streets.

Differences between populations

But Buenos Aires is not just a scene of protests. Report went to a traditional mataderos fair and met with supporters and detractors of Miley.

In San Isidro, in the greater Buenos Aires area, support for Javier Miley's government has become greater. According to a survey published by the daily newspaper Clarin in mid-May, 53.1% of the region's population have a positive view of the first six months of Miley's government.

Further away, in the Villa 31 community, hardliner Federico said last December that he supported Sergio Massa, Miley's opponent. Now, he says he has lost his job and the money does not arrive at the end of the month.

But one market stallholder in the region takes the opposite view. Roxana Orozco says she voted for Miley in hopes of change, and that prices have now stabilized. For her, support for the government remains.

In such a polarized political environment, numbers are the best indicators to follow, and one such indicator caught attention at the beginning of Miley's government: Increased poverty.

Argentine Catholic University Social Skepticism Observatory Survey for the third quarter of 2023 He pointed out that about 44.4% of the population suffers from poverty.

When Miley took office in December, inflation had risen to 25% per month, and the team made forecasts for that month and January.

• In December, data indicated that 49.5% of the population was in poverty.
• For January, the forecast was 57.4%.

Miley often says that with him the economy will go through level V, falling at first due to cuts and adjustments, and then growing.

Federal MP Oscar Zago says that the government has so far succeeded in reducing inflation, ending the fiscal deficit, and controlling social programs “run by poverty criminals.” But he was unable to clarify when these achievements would be reflected in the lives of residents.

Since April 10, the report has sought to target President Javier Miley, Human Capital Minister Sandra Pitofilo, Public Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, Economy Minister Luis Caputo, then-Chief of Staff Nicolas Bossé, and then-Chief of Staff Nicolas Bossé. Current Minister of the Interior and Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos. None of them wanted to talk to Fantástico.

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