Argentine President Javier Milei used an appearance in New York at the 'Western Values, Economic Freedom & Strategic Security' event — organized by the Fundación Federalismo y Libertad and the International Republican Institute — to lay out the philosophical and practical foundations of his administration's economic agenda, presenting property rights, predictable regulation, and public security as mutually reinforcing pillars of national development.
Milei defined economic freedom as the unimpeded exercise of property rights — the ability of individuals to produce, trade, save, and invest without bureaucratic interference. He argued that the state undermines this right not only through taxation but also through unpredictable rulemaking, which prevents individuals from knowing whether today's rules will apply tomorrow. Regulation, he maintained, is as damaging to property rights as direct taxation, even if the harm is less immediately visible.
As a concrete illustration, Milei pointed to his government's repeal of Argentina's rental law through decree 70/23, enacted upon taking office. Following the repeal, he said, the number of properties available for rent rose 300% while real rental prices fell 30%. He argued that rent control laws — presented as protections for lower-income tenants — in practice pushed the most vulnerable out of the market entirely, as below-equilibrium pricing reduces supply and leaves those with the fewest resources unable to secure housing.
On broader fiscal and monetary policy, Milei reported a 30% cut in public spending and a proportionally larger adjustment at the central bank relative to the treasury. Measured using the seasonally adjusted monthly economic activity estimator, he said, Argentina's economy grew 6.7% in his first year — countering predictions of a contraction. He also credited the reduction of inflation with returning what he described as 100 billion dollars in purchasing power to Argentines, and stated that poverty had been cut by half, equivalent to 14 million people leaving poverty.
Milei further cited a drop in social unrest as a pro-poor measure, noting that picket-line disruptions had fallen from 9,000 per year at the start of his administration to zero, and that crime indicators had reached their lowest levels on record — pointing out that public security disproportionately benefits lower-income citizens who, unlike the wealthy, cannot privately fund their own protection.
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