Argentina’s economic chainsaw massacre

Argentine President Javier Milei attends the launch of Brazilian Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign in Sao Paulo on July 25. | Victor Moriyama / The New York Times

By Jeremy Adelman
Project Syndicate

Oct 26, 2026

BUENOS AIRES –

Nearly three years after Javier Milei became Argentina’s president, the chainsaw-wielding free-marketeer has established himself as the darling of the far right. Even in the run-up to Brazil’s Sunday election, right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro campaigned on an economic policy that followed Milei’s lead, and U.S. President Donald Trump calls Milei his “favorite president.”

Last year, Trump extended Argentina an unprecedented $20 billion currency swap line to halt its currency’s free fall on the eve of legislative elections and the gambit worked. Milei’s party won a surprising victory.

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