Argentina’s Malthusian President Javier Milei is determined to kill off his nation’s elderly retirees. This sector has borne the brunt of his deadly austerity policies, combined with high inflation rates that have eaten into their purchasing power. Earlier this year, he reduced the average pension by 8.1% at a time when 5 million pensioners (approximately 73%) live below the poverty line and have been denied subsidized prices for many medications they need. Rising food prices have placed essential food items out of the reach of retirees, and recent studies point to an alarming increase of malnutrition among seniors. The cost of an average market basket for pensioners is 800,000 pesos, but the average minimum pension is 225,497 pesos.
Killing off the elderly is apparently too much for even some of Milei’s close Congressional allies. In late August, both houses of Congress passed a bill, each by a two-thirds majority, restoring the 8.1% that Milei had earlier slashed from pensions. Congress members from Milei’s LLA party and other parties that normally collaborate with him, backed the bill instead. That isn’t a huge increase, but it was enough to cause the crazed Milei to go ballistic and promptly veto the bill, lying that the increase would cause upheaval in the national budget and wreck the government’s economic program. Given that the bill passed with a large majority in both houses, it may be possible to override the veto with a two-thirds majority. There is frantic organizing from the government’s side to prevent it.
