Argentina’s president has been accused of hypocrisy after awarding himself a 48 per cent pay rise while pushing through an austerity package that has plunged millions of people into poverty.

Javier Milei secretly signed the rise for himself and his cabinet on Feb 29, said Victoria Tolosa, an opposition congresswoman. She accused the president of “lying to all Argentines”.

The outspoken Argentine leader responded furiously, annulling the rise and claiming that it was the result of an executive remuneration system brought in by his predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in 2010, when she was president.

“Everyday that passes, we discover a new law that favours the politicians and hurts Argentines,” Mr Milei wrote on X, formerly Twitter, saying that he would introduce a new method for setting presidential and ministerial salaries.

But the scandal is hugely embarrassing for Mr Milei, who came to power on a promise to take a chainsaw to the Argentinian economy and has moved to introduce radical reforms.

Devalued peso

Since his inauguration on Dec 10, he has devalued the Argentine peso by half, the poverty rate has jumped from 40 per cent to 60 per cent, and inflation has surged to past 250 per cent.

Meanwhile, he has frozen subsidies to the country’s 38,000 soup kitchens just as they are being overwhelmed by new families who have fallen out of work or seen their benefits cut.

Through it all, the president has called for ordinary Argentines to bear the pain, promising them that it is the only path to eventual prosperity.

Ms Fernández de Kirchner was quick to point out the apparent inconsistency.

“Oh president… you want to fight with me so that we don’t talk about the decree you signed,” she posted on X. “I want to believe that you do read what you sign, right?”

Mr Milei then responded by threatening to cut her monthly pension of 14 million pesos (roughly £11,000), adding that, given her concern for the poor, “I presume you won’t complain”.