Milei Gave Himself a Huge Pay Raise, Then Took It Back

The president who vowed to cut government spending rescinds the 48 percent pay raise he gave himself.

Argentine President Javier Milei is being accused of increasing his presidential income while pushing massive spending cuts across the government to deal with the country's economic crisis. 

Reports emerged over the weekend that Milei's monthly salary increased from 4 million pesos (equivalent to $4,700, according to the official exchange rate) in January to slightly over 6 million pesos (or $7,073) in February. The salary hike was also extended to other top government officials. 

Milei's 48 percent pay raise sparked outrage among opposition members, especially after the president had promised to bring a chainsaw to the Argentine economy and drastically cut public spending. 

The situation escalated on Monday, when Milei fired Labor Secretary Omar Yasín during a live interview with TV channel LN+, claiming that the salary increase was "an error that should not have been made." According to the president, the pay increase was an automatic adjustment from a decree signed by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner 14 years ago. 

"I have just been informed that as a result of a decree signed by former president Cristina Kirchner in 2010, which established that political officials should always earn more than public administration employees, an automatic increase was granted to the political staff of this government," Milei wrote Saturday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Every day that passes we find a new rule that favors politicians and harms Argentines."

"In a time of crisis like the current one in which Argentine society is making a heroic effort, politicians have to be the first to lend a helping hand," he added. "The political joke is over."

But Milei's explanation did little to quell criticism. Opposition figures are saying that he authorized his own salary increase through a decree he signed on February 29 and then used Yasín as a scapegoat. The decree established a salary increase in February for national government workers, including the president, vice president, ministers, secretaries, and undersecretaries. 

"With the banner of austerity, Milei lies to us," congresswoman Victoria Tolosa Paz, who served in the cabinet of former President Alberto Fernandez, wrote on X. "The President lies to all Argentines." 

Even former President Kirchner responded to the accusation by saying that the decree she signed years ago has nothing to do with the salary scandal. "Admit that you signed, got paid and got caught," she wrote. 

Milei won the presidential election last year, promising to shock Argentina's economy to end its economic crisis. He promised to dollarize the economy, abolish the central bank, and drastically cut government spending. 

Just two days before the scandal, the president's party, La Libertad Avanza, announced a bill reversing a proposed salary increase of around 30 percent for deputies and senators. Milei rallied against the raise, which had been approved in late February by Vice President Victoria Villarruel and lower house leader Martin Menem. "I don't agree with the salary raise. I understand that they might have needs, but 60% of Argentines are poor and 10% are destitute," Milei said on LN+ on Thursday. 

Milei rescinded his pay raise on Saturday. He also said that he would be returning the money he was paid last month by discounting it from the following month's paycheck. But for a president having trouble passing his deregulatory measures in Congress and relying almost solely on his public popularity, the scandal poses a significant threat to his ambitious economic agenda.