Saifedean Ammous, economist and author of the best-selling book The Bitcoin Standard, criticized Argentina’s President Javier Milei for his economic performance, highlighting the failed bond rollover despite one of the highest interest rates in history. Ammous believes that the country will likely default, as it owes over $40 billion to international institutions.
Bitcoin Standard Author Saifedean Ammous Blasts Milei’s Economic Miracle
Not everyone agrees with the so-called economic miracle that Argentina is currently experiencing due to the economic policies of President Javier Milei. Saifedean Ammous, economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, the best-selling crypto book, took to social media to explain why he believes Milei will ultimately fail to steer Argentina away from failure.
Ammous believes that Argentina is heading toward a difficult debt scenario, given that its economy has failed to instill enough confidence for investors to put money into its bonds. He highlighted that Milei’s administration attempted to roll over its bonds, offering an astonishing 69% interest rate but managing to roll over only 61%, hinting at a possible default or an inflationary disaster brewing.
The bitcoin proponent also blasted Milei’s new debt, which includes loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), totaling nearly $42 billion. Ammous has also called out inflation numbers, stating that they are manipulated, and even so, the total inflation since Milei assumed office surpasses 150%.
To Ammous, Milei had the opportunity to fix inflation by ending the central bank, just as he announced during his campaign, but her failed to do so. Criticizing the so-called libertarian policies of Milei’s administration in Argentina, Ammous stated:
All talk of a free market is empty rhetoric as long as the government manipulates the money, which is a part of every economic exchange in the market, and in Argentina, government control of the money is complete.
Ammous criticism echoes the sentiment of several economists who believe Milei’s policies will result in an economic disaster for Argentina, even with aggressive cost-cutting measures, including the deregulation of the state and the slashing of many jobs considered redundant.
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