The world is curious to know how Argentina’s wildcard president, Javier Milei, has fared after his first 100 days in power. The answer is a B+. If that doesn’t sound impressive, his predecessors should have been ranked D-.

For the first time in over a decade Argentina achieved a budget surplus – at least in January and February. Inflation in February fell by 13 percent – although this is less impressive than it sounds, as last year it was 276 percent, the highest in the world. When he took office on December 10, Argentina owed US$263 billion to foreign creditors, but had no dollars reserves at all. Since then, foreign reserves have grown to $7 billion.

He immediately took his chain-saw to government spending. cutting cabinet in half to nine ministries, slashing 50,000 public service jobs, suspending all new public works contracts and removing fuel and transport subsidies. He shut down the official government news agency and anti-discrimination board, and defunded scientific research and the cinema industry.

Milei’s shock treatment has been painful. Expenditure on social programs fell by almost 60 percent in real terms compared to January 2023. Though this may seem harsh, it exposed abuses. It seems that more than 120,000 beneficiaries of welfare plans travelled abroad between 2020 and 2023.

Another reform that affected the needy was a reduction of 32 percent in real terms in pensions. One of the first to protest was former president Cristina Fernandez Kirchner. In response, Milei told her on social media: “I have just cancelled the salary increases of the entire national cabinet. Since I saw you so worried about your pension, what do you think if I cancel the $14,000,000 pesos (about US$16,000) that you receive as a privilege retirement and assign you a minimum retirement? I suppose you are not going to complain.”

The road ahead will be rocky. Although Milei is fervently pro-business and pro-market, he does not control Congress. But to make his reform agenda work, he needs its support. If the economy fails to improve, voters will turn against him and his political enemies could destroy him. For now, though, his approval ratings are relatively high – between 45 and 50 percent. (US President Joe Biden’s approval rating is about 40 percent.)