Argentina’s libertarian president Javier Milei has launched an aggressive campaign to overhaul state-owned companies from an airline to an oil group and the postal service as lawmakers hold back his plans to privatise them.
Milei, who counts Margaret Thatcher among his political heroes, on the campaign trail described privatising Argentina’s state companies as a top priority, but he has so far struggled to win backing for it from Congress.
In the meantime, his officials have begun large-scale cost cuts at dozens of state-owned groups as part of their effort to balance Argentina’s budget this year, opening up fierce conflicts with staff and unions.