Argentina’s Milei accused of double standards in a scandal over a 48% pay raise

• Opposition lawmakers hit out at Milei over the weekend, sharing details on social media that showed his gross monthly salary rising to just over 6 million Argentinian pesos last month.
• Milei said during a televised interview on Monday that he had ordered the dismissal of Labor Secretary Omar Yasin over the scandal, reportedly saying a salary increase for himself and top government officials was "an error that should not have been made."
• "The political joke is over," Milei said Saturday in a post via X, according to a Google translation.

Argentina's Javier Milei has been accused of hypocrisy for orchestrating a substantial increase in presidential pay while pushing through an austerity package, in a scandal that has rocked the right-wing populist's government.

Opposition lawmakers hit out at Milei over the weekend, sharing details on social media that showed his gross monthly salary rising to just over 6 million Argentinian pesos ($7,073 with Argentina's official exchange rate) last month. It reflected a 48% increase in presidential pay from January.

Milei said during a televised interview on Monday that he had ordered the dismissal of Labor Secretary Omar Yasin over the scandal, reportedly saying a salary increase for himself and top government officials was "an error that should not have been made."

The libertarian economist, who has often been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump, sought to defend the pay increase by claiming it was automatically triggered by a decree signed by former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner 14 years ago.

Opposition lawmakers, however, said the president's own signature was used on a February decree that enabled the pay increase.

"I have just been informed that as a result of