President Javier Milei revealed this Thursday the key condition to advance in the elimination of the exchange rate bands scheme and ratified the government's economic openness strategy, while sharply criticizing protectionist stances, which he holds responsible for Argentina's stagnation and loss of competitiveness. During an interview with Bloomberg, Milei defended the current exchange rate regime, stating that within the established bands, 'the exchange rate is free.' 'Argentina today is one of the most closed countries in the world.' He explained that when the economy opens up, some sectors may lose jobs, but the savings generated by lower prices are channeled into other areas, where genuine work is created according to society's true demands. The president insisted that international trade generates increasing returns, greater well-being, and wealth accumulation, and emphasized that historically, the most open countries to the world are the most prosperous. 'We have a long way to go,' he affirmed. Milei's economic definitions came in line with the points he made days ago at the World Economic Forum, where he presented his liberal vision of trade, criticized state interventionism, and called for a profound transformation of the Argentine productive model. The government ensures that the elimination of exchange rate bands will be a decisive step within the economic program, but they reiterate it will not be taken hastily. The Casa Rosada considers that only a context of full monetary stability will allow advancing towards a completely free exchange rate scheme, without risks of inflationary surges. With these statements, Milei made it clear once again that his administration will not change its economic course, and that opening up, deregulation, and monetary discipline will continue to be the central pillars of his policy, even in the face of criticisms from sectors that demand greater protectionism and a more active state intervention. 'Allowing the entry of cheaper products does not destroy jobs, it reorders them towards more productive sectors,' he stated. In this sense, he explained that the definitive elimination of this scheme will be carried out when the Government considers the monetary cleanup process, driven from the beginning of its management, to be completed. 'The moment will come when we have finished cleaning up the monetary surplus,' stated the president, indicating that the Executive's priority is to structurally reduce the amount of pesos in circulation.
