By Ernesto Raul Carlessi
Since assuming the presidency in December 2023, Javier Milei has unleashed economic shock therapy on Argentina, plunging millions into poverty while his administration grapples with corruption scandals, vote-buying allegations, and the selling off of the nation to foreign capital. The consequences of his policies demand scrutiny, and more importantly, alternative solutions. Here, we analyze the critical impacts of Milei’s governance, offering remedies rooted in the Progressive Utilization Theory (Prout), a socioeconomic model developed by philosopher Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. Prout emphasizes the rational distribution of wealth to benefit society, guided by humanistic, ecological, and spiritual principles.
Milei campaigned on an anti-establishment platform, promising to “drain the swamp” of corruption. However, his administration itself has been quickly mired in allegations of vote-buying and shady dealings. To push through his controversial “Omnibus Law,” Milei’s party allegedly offered incentives and discretionary funds to senators in exchange for their support. As reported by El Destape Web, legislators and governors have denounced pressure and non-transparent agreements (“Obra Pública: Alertan sobre el impacto en los contratos y el aumento de despidos,” 2024). This law, a sweeping structural reform, undermines fundamental rights and favors foreign capital and big business at the expense of workers, retirees, provinces, small producers, and public service users. The implications are far-reaching, including the elimination of collective bargaining, reduced severance pay, increased retirement ages, cuts to provincial funding, deregulation favoring imports, and the suppression of social movements. According to El Cronista, a national business newspaper in Argentina, the law introduces key changes to labor regulations (“Las claves de la reforma laboral que cambia a partir de ahora,” 2024).
Adding insult to injury, Milei’s image was exploited in a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded thousands of Argentinians. Though Milei denied any involvement, the owner of the implicated platform, Libra, claimed to have directly negotiated with Milei for promotional endorsements, according to La Nacion, a major national newspaper. This fraudulent scheme promised extraordinary returns but turned out to be a pyramid scheme that wiped out the savings of countless individuals. Beyond these scandals, Milei’s government has enacted brutal austerity measures, decimating the state and disproportionately harming the most vulnerable. Public services have seen exorbitant increases, with transport fares multiplying sevenfold and utility costs soaring. According to Infobae, “In 2024, public transport tickets multiplied by seven, while gas rose by 531%, water by 331%, and electricity by 268%.”
Between November 2023 and October 2024,nearly 187,000 registered salaried jobs have been lost, primarily in the private sector, and unemployment has risen to 6.9%. Healthcare and education have suffered drastic cuts, impacting millions of Argentinians. National hospitals and cancer institutes have seen budget reductions of up to 67%, while university teacher salaries have experienced their most significant decline in a decade, reported Pagina 12. Essential programs like sex education and adolescent pregnancy prevention have been slashed.
The consequences extend to retirees, with approximately 3.2 million pensioners suffering losses equivalent to five minimum pensions due to delayed inflation adjustments. The government has also halted 100% of public works projects, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the construction sector and leaving over 125,000 homes unfinished. Poverty has surged to nearly 53%, affecting 25 million people, while extreme poverty has reached 18.1%, impacting 8.5 million. Simultaneously, over 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have gone bankrupt, and more than 12,000 employers have gone out of business..
Adding to the turmoil, Milei’s government has engaged in repressive tactics, with numerous reports of physical aggression against protesters, lawmakers, and journalists. Raids on organizations and mass arrests have become commonplace, while critics accuse the government of implementing a de facto constitutional reform and dismantling popular movements. Finally, Milei is pushing forward with a privatization plan that threatens thousands of jobs and hands over strategic enterprises to corporations. Radio Nacional, TV Pública, Aerolíneas Argentinas, YPF (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales), and Banco Nación are among the entities at risk, jeopardizing essential services and national sovereignty.
Javier Milei’s government represents an extreme form of capitalism—one that has discarded even the minimal democratic checks that traditionally accompany market economies. Under the guise of “libertarianism,” his administration has weaponized economic shock, dismantled public institutions, and handed the country over to speculative finance and foreign interests. This is not simply neoliberalism; it is economic authoritarianism, where speculative scams, mass privatizations, and violent repression replace public welfare, civic accountability, and national sovereignty. The social fabric of Argentina is being ripped apart not only through material deprivation but through the erosion of moral and ethical governance.
A Prout-based economic strategy for Argentina would fundamentally diverge from Javier Milei’s austerity-driven, privatization-heavy model by rooting the economy in local self-reliance, cooperative enterprise, and economic democracy. Instead of dismantling public services and auctioning off state-owned companies like YPF, Banco Nación, or Aerolíneas Argentinas, the solution would be to retain strategic sectors under public control and operate them on a “no profit, no loss” basis to ensure universal access to energy, transport, and financial services. In provinces like Neuquén and Chubut, where energy resources like gas and oil are abundant, these assets would be managed in the public interest, with revenues reinvested into local infrastructure, healthcare, and education. Rather than depending on foreign capital or IMF dictates, Argentina should establish “credit unions” and cooperative banks and redirect national investment toward worker cooperatives, agro-industrial hubs, and sustainable housing projects in regions such as the NOA (Northeast Argentina) and NEA (Northwest Argentina), where economic abandonment has been most severe.
As regards Argentina’s local industries and producers, Proutist policies would seek to protect and prioritize them. In provinces like Santa Fe and Córdoba, known for their agricultural machinery and food production, the government should support cooperative ownership of medium-scale enterprises, safeguarding them from predatory import policies that favor foreign products over domestic goods. Such policies would limit the importation of items that can be produced locally—such as dairy from La Pampa, textiles from Tucumán, or grains from Buenos Aires province—thereby strengthening national industry and creating jobs.
In contrast to Milei’s model, which centralizes power among financial elites and global corporations, Prout recommends decentralizing economic planning and empowering communities to shape their own development paths. By rooting the economy in ethical leadership, participatory governance, and ecological balance, a pragmatic and just alternative—one that puts the well-being of the Argentinian people above market speculation and foreign control–can be established.
In these dark times for Argentina, where poverty surges and democracy frays under the weight of authoritarian austerity, Prout stands not just as a critique but as a coherent, ethical alternative—one rooted in solidarity, sustainability, and justice.
References
El Cronista. 2024. “Las claves de la reforma laboral que cambia a partir de ahora.” https://www.cronista.com/economia-politica/las-claves-de-la-reforma-laboral-que-cambia-a-partir-de-ahora-3568/
El Destape Web. 2024. “Obra pública: alertan sobre el impacto en los contratos y el aumento de despidos.” https://www.eldestapeweb.com/economia/ley-omnibus/obra-publica-alertan-sobre-el-impacto-en-los-contratos-y-el-aumento-de-despidos-2024250555
Infobae. 2024. “Tarifas de servicios públicos: cómo serán los próximos aumentos en luz, gas, agua y transporte.” https://www.infobae.com/economia/2024/04/20/tarifas-de-servicios-publicos-como-seran-los-proximos-aumentos-en-luz-gas-agua-y-transporte/
La Nación. 2025. “El artículo completo del New York Times: Qué tanto sabía Javier Milei de la criptoestafa que promovió.” https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-articulo-completo-del-new-york-times-que-tanto-sabia-javier-milei-de-la-criptoestafa-que-promovio-nid28022025/
Página 12. 2024. “Recortes en salud y educación: los primeros datos del presupuesto.” https://www.pagina12.com.ar/516087-recortes-en-salud-y-educacion-los-primeros-datos-del-presupue