Two years into Javier Milei’s presidency, Argentina has become a living laboratory for a radical reshaping of the economy and the public sphere.
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What started as a bold, anti-establishment campaign quickly evolved into a systematic reordering of how the state interacts with society, one that, in practice, has moved from reform rhetoric to reusable tools of market-led governance.
A closer look reveals a pattern: sweeping changes to public institutions, a government that leans on decrees to push its agenda, and a social safety net strained to its limits.
Milei is privatizing the infrastructure of Argentina.
"Since September 2022, seven Argentinian provinces have signed wide-ranging agreements granting Mekorot (Israels State-Owned Water Company) significant influence over how they allocate water resources."… pic.twitter.com/sTINkWfIWj
— 7SEES (@7SEES_) July 22, 2025
Institutional Dismantling: The Ley Bases and Rule by Decree
Milei’s governing strategy blends aggressive legislative reform with a willingness to bypass Congress. The centerpiece is what supporters call the Ley Bases (Law 27,742), a broad package that recalibrates the state’s role in the economy.
When opposition lawmakers slowed (or obstructed) the timetable, Milei leaned on Necessity and Urgency Decrees (DNUs) to press ahead. By late 2025, dozens of DNUs had become a common tool to enact policy without the normal trial of democratic deliberation.
Analysts describe this pattern as a shift from a norm-based democracy toward a governance style that relies more on executive fiat and market-oriented priorities, an approach that echoes liberalized frameworks in which capital shapes policy outcomes more directly.
Critics warn that the cumulative effect is a narrowing of legislative debate and a reduction in the checks and balances designed to protect vulnerable groups..
Seigniorage: A Crime Against the Economy.
About: Milei, Seigniorage, currency competition, central bank, treasury, inflation, GDP. pic.twitter.com/ErKiOFByKs
— Milei Explains (@Milei_Explains) February 24, 2024
The “Caste” Narrative vs. Ethical Erosion
Milei campaigned on purifying the political life of a perceived “caste” of elites. Yet in these first two years, ethical controversies have dogged the administration. Notable episodes include:
- Institutional corruption: Karina Milei, the president’s sister and General Secretary, faced bribery allegations connected to the National Disability Agency.
- Financial missteps: In 2025, the president backed the Libra cryptocurrency, which collapsed quickly and drew broad condemnation as a scam.
- Allegations of ties to crime: Key ally José Luis Espert resigned amid accusations of links to drug trafficking.
These incidents have complicated the government’s “clean hands” rhetoric and fed a broader narrative that moral authority is unevenly distributed inside power circles.
Karina Milei antes de cerrar las oficinas de ANDIS pic.twitter.com/NM6DhiSW34
— El Tío de Inti🌞 (@intisumaj2) December 30, 2025
The Social Cost of “Shock Therapy”: Pensions and Disability Under Fire
Under a rhetoric of Zero Deficit, Milei’s team has pursued what they frame as prudent, fiscally sane choices. In practice, that has translated into what critics call a “Chainsaw” approach to public spending and a “Blender” approach to value, vital social protections being trimmed or redefined in fiscal terms.
Perhaps the starkest example is the closure of the National Disability Agency (ANDIS) at the end of 2025. Officials framed the move as a crackdown on corruption, but it represents a withdrawal from a core public responsibility: protecting the most vulnerable.
Looking ahead, the administration signaled that hundreds of thousands of disability beneficiaries could lose payments in 2026 as eligibility criteria tighten to reflect budget metrics rather than lived need.
Contracting out disability management to an already strained Ministry of Health risks further delays in access to healthcare and essential services, pushing families into financial and logistical limbo.
The impact on older Argentines has been severe, even as the administration touts a supposed recovery. Protests followed vetoes on crucial funding for vulnerable populations, highlighting a disconnect between celebratory macroeconomic headlines and ground-level hardship.
Critics argue that labeling social benefits as potential fraud is a pretext for withdrawing support, masking a policy direction that undermines human dignity.
The result, many say, is a “lost social wage” for workers and retirees, services and safeguards that once buffered households from economic shocks are eroding while promises of trickle-down investment remain unfulfilled.
Milei suspended 80k disability pensions granted by the previous governments after beneficiaries failed to show up to the mandatory medical review.
That was about 60% of disability pensions.
Over 6k were going to dead people. pic.twitter.com/0LlkYIycV5
— Luca Dellanna (@DellAnnaLuca) July 23, 2025
Labor Adjustments and the Privatization of Life
Argentina’s labor framework has seen a marked tilt toward contractual flexibility, with implications for job security and long-term social costs. The Ley Bases revises employer liability and simplifies dismissals, shifting risk toward workers.
Key policy shifts include:
- Amnesty for informality: The law allows a “regularization” window with heavy waivers of decades of social security debts, effectively forgiving past noncompliance at the expense of the national social security fund.
- Longer probation periods: The duration of probation stretches from three months to six months, and up to a year for micro-businesses, during which firing can occur without severance.
- Independent Collaborator status: A new category enables a worker to hire up to three others under a commercial contract, stripping those workers of paid leave, workers’ compensation, and collective bargaining rights.
- Severance fund approach: Replacing traditional seniority-based severance with a monthly fund reduces the cost of firing, incentivizing employer flexibility over worker protections.
Complete read out of the RIGI (Argentina's Large Investments Incentive Program) law 27,742 that has become LAW OF THE LAND on July 08, 2024.
CHAPTERS 1 and 2 from 12 (the rest is coming)
👇🏽https://t.co/iCMowuxi7L pic.twitter.com/umzRy2FBjr
— Argentina's Milei News 🇦🇷🤝🌎 (@ArgMilei) August 5, 2024
Water: From Human Right to Corporate Asset
AySA, the public water utility, stands as a visible milestone of the privatization pivot. The regulatory framework now allows disconnections after 60 days of non-payment and ties tariffs to a concept called Economic-Financial Equilibrium, guaranteeing a return for private operators.
The state’s obligation to expand water networks, especially in less profitable urban areas, appears diminished, raising concerns about universal access to a basic necessity.
Infrastructure policy has reframed water as a market good rather than a universal public utility, raising alarms about affordability and equity for the most vulnerable residents.
🇦🇷🇮🇱 Milei's Argentina is selling its own state-run water company to Israel's state-run water company.
This is what the "populist" right stands. https://t.co/iL8it0PCzA
— Orikron 🇵🇹 骆培思 (@orikron) July 20, 2025
Repression and Corruption: The Iron Fist and the Hidden Caste
To sustain this restructuring, the Milei administration has leaned into strong-arm tactics against dissent while grappling with its own corruption questions. Key dynamics include:
- Criminalization of dissent: The government has employed a range of measures intended to curb protests, including police-led enforcement that critics call heavy-handed and indiscriminate.
- Anti-protest norms in labor reform: Provisions tightening employment protections for protesters allow immediate dismissal without severance, chilling collective action.
- Violent incidents and police conduct: Notable cases, such as the injury of photojournalist Pablo Grillo during a protest, have underscored concerns about state violence.
- Corporate-friendly “caste” politics: Despite anti-caste rhetoric, the administration’s inner circle has faced scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest and policy favors for multinational interests.
Strategic Extractivism and Institutionalized Inequality
The Milei administration has fused strategic extractivism with water diplomacy, signaling a broader shift toward resource-centric governance.
On one front, the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) invites multinational mining and energy firms to repatriate profits rapidly, a move some observers call “territorial surrender” to capital.
On the other front, Mekorot’s proposal to take over water management, framed as a step toward efficiency, sparks concerns about prioritizing industrial needs over local households and human consumption.
As Milei enters the second year, the contrast between headline macro indicators, fiscal surpluses, and falling inflation, and lived social realities is stark.
Critics say the social contract is fraying: a watchdog state is retreating, and targeted aid becomes the default tool for addressing inequality.
The result is a more stratified society where rights increasingly hinge on income and access to private capital.
The Bottom Line
Two years into Milei’s experiment, Argentina demonstrates a pivot from a protective state toward a market-discipline regime.
The most visible symbols (ANDIS’s closure, privatization of water, and a labor framework that emphasizes flexibility over security) signal a broader reorientation: rights that once depended on universal guarantees are now articulated as contingent, and social welfare is recalibrated to reflect fiscal metrics rather than human need.
From the perspective of social justice and democratic accountability, the question remains urgent: can Argentina sustain macroeconomic gains while preserving the social protections that safeguard dignity and ensure basic human rights?
Sources: teleSUR – Página 12 – Barricada Tv – El Diario – Freiheit – La Razón – Swiss Info – DW – Casa Rosada – Global Legal Insights – LatFem
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