Economy Minister Luis Caputo has confidently asserted that Argentina will achieve “zero inflation” under President Javier Milei’s administration. Speaking on Sunday, Caputo argued that the key difference between the Milei administration and its predecessors in office is that the current government is “addressing the root cause” of Argentina’s problems, namely that “the country was spending more than it collected in revenue.” He said “There were politicians who tried to convince the country that the problems lay elsewhere, such as debt, the dollar or inflation, and they sought solutions such as defaulting on the debt, imposing currency controls or introducing price controls. But they continued running deficits, so the problems were never solved.” During an interview, Caputo contended that the gravity of the economic situation inherited by the government has been downplayed, highlighting “daily inflation of 1.5 percent, poverty approaching 57 percent and shortages.” Caputo said “The course we are on is the right one. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it is the correct path.”
Official poverty figures experienced a significant decline in the latter half of 2025, following a peak early in Milei’s Presidency. However, detractors contend that the government’s fiscal adjustments have persistently exerted pressure on household incomes. Caputo noted that when the Milei administration took office, “the first thing we did was eliminate excess spending overnight, which was running at 30 percent above revenues, and that surprised the world.” He stated that the government had integrated substantial spending reductions with fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate strategies that, in his opinion, had averted Argentina from descending into a “terminal crisis.” Caputo asserted that prior administrations, confronted with circumstances “far less serious than the one we inherited,” had acquiesced to economic crises and infringed upon private property rights through actions such as “the confiscation of bank deposits and pensions,” He contended that this history elucidates why a significant number of Argentines continue to hold their US dollars outside the formal financial system.
“The most important thing we did was to acknowledge the real problem, solve it through an economic programme that avoided a crisis, and do so without violating private property rights,” he added. Caputo asserts that Argentina is poised for “many years of improvement ahead.” He attributed the success of the government’s economic programme to Milei’s support for its execution, asserting that it “would have been impossible without a president like him.” Caputo argued “When I look at what is driving the economy, net exports will continue to grow – it’s not just agriculture and energy. The knowledge economy is at record levels, SME exports are growing, and the stability we’ve achieved is creating opportunities for many businesses.”
The minister reiterated that the government’s goal is “to reduce the number of people who struggle to make ends meet,” adding that “poverty has now fallen by half and extreme poverty by two-thirds.” Caputo delivered his most assertive forecast regarding inflation, confidently stating that “we’re going to reach zero inflation.” Annual inflation has declined significantly since Milei assumed office, yet monthly price hikes continue to exceed two percent, leading to differing opinions among economists regarding the pace at which inflation can be eradicated. Consumer prices increased by 1.9 percent in June, with the annual inflation rate currently at 33.5 percent. While the government’s fiscal adjustment has been widely credited with helping curb inflation, experts caution that reducing monthly price hikes to zero is likely to prove considerably more difficult.