Alberto Fernández gave his final speech as president of Argentina on Friday, offering a self-critical portrayal of his administration via a  taped message broadcast from the government house.

“We know that we did not achieve the goals we set ourselves out to accomplish, like strengthening income, fighting inflation, and reducing poverty,” Fernández said. When he took office in 2019, yearly inflation was running at 53.8%. The last published official figures revealed that the interannual inflation rate was 143.7%.

“The circumstances and the context did not help us. We also should have done some things better or differently,” he stated, adding that the situation was “calamitous” when he took office in 2019 after a term by Mauricio Macri, naming inflation, debt, and poverty as some of the reasons why.

“I carry with me the deep pain of having been unable to improve the lives of those who are still in poverty,” he said. Official figures indicate that 40.1% of Argentines are poor. Last week, Fernández sparked controversy after contesting those numbers, saying that sometimes people under-declare their income to not lose their welfare assistance. 

Two days before president-elect Javier Milei takes office, Fernández warned that austerity measures are “not reasonable” since they will “stop production and hinder employment and consumption.” He pointed out that an extra US$35 billion will enter the country from agricultural, livestock, gas, and lithium exports.

He estimated that, thanks to the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, the government will save US$5 billion in liquefied gas imports and that by 2030, total exports will have grown by 80%.

“[In our efforts] to solve the fiscal problem, we must be careful not to infringe on the rights of workers, as well as ensuring that the aspirations of those who invest and produce are not frustrated,” Fernandez said.

He also highlighted the government’s performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 16% economic growth between 2021 and 2022, the drop in unemployment, and other accomplishments.

“Argentina is a much better country than it was four years ago: with more jobs, more built infrastructure, more housing, more industry, more universities, more rights for women and [sexual minorities], more development of science and technology,” he said.

Fernández thanked his team, remembered former President Néstor Kirchner, and recognized former president and current Vice-President Cristina Kirchner, whom he is not on speaking terms with. In October, Kirchner distanced herself from Fernández, saying that the current administration is not hers.

“I will not choose the comfortable place of waiting for the judgment of history, which is usually benevolent to former presidents, because it hides the ambivalences of the present. I listen to and take charge of the judgment of my contemporaries. Their enthusiasm, their anger, and their criticisms,” he said.

“After 40 years of democracy, let us defend it every day, as the Grandmothers and Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, and all those who have shown us the way and taught us,” he said. 

“Today, more and better democracy, always.”