One year into his presidency, Javier Milei has outperformed any reasonable expectations, except perhaps his own.
by Michael Munger
The Daily Economy
There’s something happening here. What it is, ain’t exactly clear.
Around the world, there is growing impatience with the orthodoxies and condescension of the progressive left. In the past two years, right-leaning parties have outperformed electoral expectations in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal, and countries such as Hungary, Poland, and — again — the US.
But the country with the most happening, and the least clarity, is almost certainly Argentina. Just over a year ago, Javier Milei won the presidency in what may be the most “out of nowhere” election ever. It is tempting to lump Milei’s success in with the general electoral tilt to the right, but that’s not correct; Milei is different. As a podcast produced by The Economist, put it: “Milei is above all a zealous believer in free-market economics. That is his absolute guiding understanding.”