Argentina elects a new anarcho-capitalist disruptor
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Argentinian economist Javier Milei, presidential candidate for La Libertad Avanz, won the country's election runoff after rival candidate Sergio Massa conceded. Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images
Argentina, back in its familiar position of being a fiscal and economic disaster zone, has elected a classic chaos agent, in the form of right-wing economist Javier Milei.
Why it matters: Milei ran as an ultra-libertarian — but without much support in Parliament, it's not clear how much change he can really effect.
Driving the news: Argentina's torrid economic conditions — inflation in triple digits, recession looming, a drought hitting exports — paved the way for Milei's victory.
- Like former Ecuadorean president Abdalá "El Loco" Bucaram, Milei ran on a platform of dollarizing the economy — effectively abolishing the local currency.
- Unlike Bucaram, however, Milei — armed with an outsider's righteous zeal and a hairdo described by the WSJ as looking "like a musk ox crossbred with Ozzy Osbourne" — ran from the right, not the left.
- He wants to abolish not only the central bank ("the worst garbage that exists on this Earth") but also the health, education and environment ministries.
The big picture: The chaos in Argentina is nothing new. The country has already defaulted on its foreign debt nine times — in 1827, 1890, 1951, 1956, 1982, 1989, 2001, 2014, and 2020.
- A 10th default seems all but certain, given the degree to which the peso has devalued — it's hard to pay dollar-denominated debts when your currency is in freefall.
- The chart above is actually artificially sunny — the black market exchange rate (a much better reflection of true supply and demand) is roughly three times the official rate, topping 1,000 pesos per dollar last month— more than 10 pesos to buy a single U.S. penny.
Between the lines: Milei's presidency is likely to be be noisy and messy — but it could, weirdly, be a positive force for Argentina, mainly because he doesn't have the support of any major party and therefore wouldn't have the ability to pass radical legislation.
- While Milei has suggested that he could turn to referendums in an attempt to circumvent the legislature, it's unlikely that his most extreme ideas would attract majority support.
- The presidency does control the finance ministry, however. Milei has named his mastiff clones after his favorite economists — Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas, and Murray Rothbard — and his economic policy is largely in line with orthodox conservative principles.
- Rather than inveigh against foreign vultures, for instance, Milei has vowed to pay Argentina's debts and generate 200% returns for bondholders.
The bottom line: Dollarization — probably combined with a relatively creditor-friendly debt restructuring — is no panacea. But it could at this point be the least-worst outcome for Argentina.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect La Libertad Avanz candidate Javier Milei's election win.
