Other than his populism, Peron's regime is also known for its statism approach. He believes the state should have significant control over Argentina's economic and social affairs. This leads to the absence of a check-and-balance system in Argentina's political system, allowing rent-seeking activity to dominate the economy instead of productive activity (Spruk, 2019). Eventually, his philosophy led Argentina towards decades of stagnant productivity and poor economic growth with ridiculously high inflation, the long-term consequences of which are still felt today.
Despite his death in 1974, Peronism remains popular to this day. Since the re-establishment of democracy in 1983, Peronist parties have continuously dominated Argentina's political landscape, where generous welfare state programs and considerable state intervention have become the face of Argentina's politics for decades. This led Argentina toward a debacle. Peronist Presidents like Nestor Kirchner continue to expand the government deficit recklessly due to their populism, forcing the central bank to print money to repay these deficits.
As Crisis Transpires, an Anarcho-Capitalist Prevails
Being fed up with Peronist leaders who continuously fail to resolve Argentina’s economic crisis. Last year, the Argentinian people decided to elect Javier Milei, a far-right Libertarian figure who claimed himself a tantric sex guru, insulted the pope as a "Leftist son of a bi***”, and has had recent clashes with Taylor Swift fans. He's a big fan of the 'free market’ and even named his dogs after famous conservative economists Milton, Murray, Robert, and Lucas. He even leaves his hair uncombed because he believes the invisible hand will do it for him.
Throughout his life, hard-line libertarian economists who believed in the power of the Free Market have been Milei's intellectual inspiration. He always acclaimed himself as an Anarcho-Capitalist, an ideology introduced by a libertarian economist Murray Rothbard. Anarcho-capitalism believes that society will function much better without the state's intervention and on which the welfare state is the enemy (Costa, 2024). This is why, during his campaign, Milei continuously blames its predecessors, who recklessly expanded Argentina’s deficit for the sake of their welfare program.
Milei's odd political persona and ideology definitely make us wonder why the Argentinian people elected him. The answer is simply because the Argentinians are desperate for change. His unorthodox approach frames Milei as the Antithesis of Peronism, which had ruined the Argentinian economy for decades. Where he successfully presents himself as the antidote to a decade of political and economic mismanagement.
The Chainsaw Plan To Fix a Crippling Economy
So, what does Javier Milei have in his pocket to fix Argentina? The answer is a "Chainsaw". Throughout his campaign, he uses a chainsaw to symbolize his plans to cut down government spending and taxes. His administration's early motto was "No hay Plata," which means there's no money, signaling that Milei would take extensive austerity measures to save the Argentinian economy. Milei himself has pledged to cut down Argentina's federal spending by eliminating 10 of the 18 Argentina's federal ministries. He has also promised to stop new infrastructure projects, cut education & energy subsidies, and reduce payments to Argentinian provinces.
In line with his aim to break old policies, he also pledges to "blow up" the Argentinian central bank and dollarize the economy throughout his campaign. This is because, in addition to the fact that Argentina's peso is one of the most unstable currencies in the world today, closing the central bank would prevent the future government from recklessly expanding Argentina’s deficit, as financing the deficit through money printing is no longer feasible.
Can "The Madman" Save Argentina?
