A libertarian, Javier Milei, sworn in as the president of Argentina in December 2023, promised not to oppose the states’ attempts to launch their own currencies. The statement concerns a public rant between Milei and the governor of La Rioja province, Ricardo Quintela.
On Jan. 14, during his interview with Radio Mitre, Milei assured that he would not legally oppose the creation of local currencies by the provincial authorities in Argentina. The politician believes that the market will ultimately decide on the value of such projects. However, Milei believes that the “quasi-currencies” will spur up inflation and those accepting them will end up scammed:
“Those who receive payments in quasi-currencies from irresponsible governors will clearly see a loss of their income [...] What is not taken from them through budgetary adjustment will be taken from them via inflation in the quasi-currency.”
Milei’s warning came as a response to the announcement of Ricardo Quintela, the governor of La Rioja, who intends to create a separate currency for the province. The reason for that is a 50% devaluation of the nation’s currency, implemented by Milei to tame the level of inflation in the country, the highest in the last 32 years. The new president has also cut the volume of funds allocated from the federal budget to provinces.
Calling such measures "the abandonment by the nation” and citing the necessity of paying salaries to policemen, Quintela made a request to La Rioja’s legislature to prepare the legal base for minting the local currency. In December, the governor of Buenos Aires province, Axel Kicillof, also publicly contemplated the issue of local currency.
Related: Who is Javier Milei, Argentina’s market-friendly president?
Meanwhile, in Rosario, Argentina's third most populated city, a local landlord and tenant have sealed a rental agreement where the latter will pay monthly rent in Bitcoin. The contract is the first of its kind in Argentina, made possible by recent law amendments by the new presidential administration.
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