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Macri Calls for 25% Reduction in Government

  • Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during a ceremony at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina January 29, 2018.

    Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during a ceremony at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina January 29, 2018. | Photo: Argentine Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

Published 29 January 2018
Opinion

"We want to be an example of austerity. We’re going to eliminate one out of every four political appointments within the executive branch”, announced the Argentine president.
 

"We want to be an example of austerity. We’re going to eliminate one out of every four political appointments within the executive branch”, announced Argentine president Mauricio Macri in a public address from the presidential palace. This government reduction equates to the indefinite layoff of around 1,000 employees.

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Macri added, "this year high ranking government officials will not receive a raise.”

The Argentine president is hoping the sudden and major layoffs will cut public spending by up to US$77 million this year and control the country’s 24.8 percent inflation rate.

Macri’s newest round of drastic job cuts is directly in line with his economic reforms since taking office in 2015. They also follow the International Monetary Fund (IMF) December recommendations for the South American to shrink the government and expand the private sector.

Earlier this month the administration eliminated over 1,000 public works jobs. December legislation passed by the president’s Cambiemos party congressional majority reduced government investment in national pension and retirement plans by 20 percent. The regulations prompting nationwide protests.

Last year the administration slashed home energy subsidies which resulted in an approximate 500 percent price increase for electricity and a 300 percent jump for natural gas. The government will implement an additional energy price increase in February.

The Macri administration has also made concerted efforts to crush unions - dissolving a Buenos Aires union last month and is encouraging public teachers to disaffiliate from their education union via a government website.

The president added that “families members of cabinet members will not be able to work for the government.” The move is in an effort to reduce nepotism within the state apparatus and increase “political transparency.”

A recent scandal among family members related to the minister of health left around 70.000 HIV patients without their medication.

“The changes are real. What we’re proposing is much more than an economic change, it’s a cultural change. We want to change the culture of power in Argentina.”

Macri’s popularity is down by around 20 points at 45 percent, one of the poorest presidential ratings worldwide.

This weekend, Macri will host a meeting among Latin American officials and the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, to “pressure the Venezuelan (government) to follow the Democratic Agreement of the Organization of American States,” according to Infobae.

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