As Argentina's Milei marks 100 days in office, economic "Mileise" pushes down approval
A report published by Argentine pollster Zuban Córdoba shows a collapse of economic expectations, an accelerated deterioration of personal and family finances - and of both job and personal approval for President Javier Milei just three months into his far-right presidency.
The study, “The Economy in the Milei Era,” was carried out between March 7 and 9, based on 1,500 polled nationwide, with a margin of error of 2.5%, with Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) methodology.
Milei's job approval has plummeted to 42%, with a 57% disapproval according to the study.
This marks a record low figure this early in any administration since democracy returned in 1983: center-left President Alberto Fernández (2019-23) enjoyed an 80% approval three months in, and right-wing President Mauricio Macri (2015-19), 60% - about average for all Argentine presidents at the 90-100 day point.
Milei's "personal" approval is down to similar levels - another difference with his predecessors, who often enjoyed higher personal than job approval.
Confidence man
Some 55.4% now believe the country is going in the wrong direction, compared to 42.4% who think the opposite. The figure is a reversal from last December: then, 54.3% believed in the course set by the self-styled libertarian while only 43.5% disbelieved.
Consumer confidence, published monthly by the right-leaning Torcuato di Tella University, likewise plunged from 47.5 in November, to 36 in February.
71.6% say there now worse off since Milei took office, with only 5.4% saying they are better off - figures which underscore the effects of a 114% devaluation in December that has triggered a near-doubling in consumer prices and a jump in poverty rates from already-high 44.7% to 57.4% just as of January.
69% also say they no longer know what expenses to cut to make ends meet and 53% fear losing their job - a fear that was statistically minor under Fernández.
And perhaps most worrisome for the irascible Milei, 51.7% now blame his administration for the current crisis with 46% still blaming Fernández, 41% believing it to be a “worthwhile sacrifice,” and only 24% agreeing that “politicians are now paying the price of austerity” - undercutting three key administration talking points.
This is a dramatic reversal from December, when only 32% blamed the (then-new) Milei administration, and 49% blamed Fernández - with the country then evenly split (47% each) as to whether politicians or society at large was “now paying the price.”
At: https://www-pagina12-com-ar.translate.goog/721641-milei-desaprobado-sobre-todo-por-la-economia?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Left-wing demonstrators protest yesterday against deep cuts to social program under the far-right Javier Milei administration, as well as against sharply lower living standards generally since Milei was elected in November.
The latter crisis is gaining resonance even among Argentina's traditionally right-leaning middle class - with 71.6% saying they are now worse off, and that society - not politicians, as Milei often claims - are bearing the brunt of the current crisis.