How Milei Won

The December 2026 issue of Reason explores Argentine President Javier Milei's accomplishments and what is yet to be done.

Argentine politics were at a strange place in the middle of 2021. Parts were familiar: Yet again, a Peronist president—this time Alberto Fernández—was driving the annual inflation rate toward 50 percent. But this time people were not allowed to step out of their front door. The government's rapid destruction of Argentines' purchasing power coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak, which led Fernández to impose one of the world's longest lockdowns.

Despite his draconian quarantine, Fernández held a birthday bash for the first lady at the presidential residence. Photos emerged. Scandal ensued. The "VIP vaccination" drama, where political insiders got preferential medical treatment, didn't help either. Fernández's approval rating dipped to about 25 percent before the 2021 parliamentary election.

Yet the mainstream opposition was hardly in a good place to benefit. Former President Mauricio Macri, a business scion, had lost his reelection campaign to Fernández in 2019. Macri had entered office with promises of free market reform after more than 12 years of Peronist rule. But he led a lackluster government that failed to control deficit spending, doubled the inflation rate (from 27 percent to 54 percent), and was forced to accept the largest International Monetary Fund bailout in history (a $57 billion loan). … [Subscribe to continue reading]