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Javier Milei, President of Argentina. Photo taken from the website of the Argentine Presidency.
He says he is making the biggest economic adjustment in history. Will Argentines hold out?

Javier Milei: the president whose hair is combed by the “invisible hand”

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I had the opportunity to interview Javier Milei, back in 2022, when he was just considering his presidential campaign.

At that time I was working for Forbes in Colombia and we managed to arrange a virtual meeting with the congressman who was being "combed by the invisible hand". That is the answer he gives when asked about his hairstyle, in a clear allusion to his deep liberal convictions.

The quote to Adam Smith confirms that he came to power to put in order the main economic indicators of Argentina which, according to his diagnosis, had been plundered by the politicians of the "caste" who used everything (public spending and emission) to stay in power. Milei says that "those of the caste" have never really cared about Argentine citizens.

So far, he has been advancing his fiscal adjustment program, which he considers to be the largest in the history of mankind. He refers to the 15 points of GDP cut in less than six months.

The results can be seen: the fiscal balance left a primary result in July, inflation changed its trend and at least the chances of hyperinflation were reduced. No one can say that the adjustment has not had the intended impact and that it is in line with what he promised in his government program.

Something does not play in his favor: the resilience of the Argentine population in the face of a draconian adjustment program may soon be exhausted. Citizens are still facing recession, unemployment, and problems with access to basic goods.

He points out that this was the necessary step and he is spending all his political capital in this process. He will reap the rewards in the years to come if they maintain discipline and the people stick it out.

Seen in this light, it is very easy for the opposition to demonstrate that things are going badly. The OECD has just predicted that Argentina's economy will fall 4% this year and that inflation will remain at undesirable levels of 147% and will drop to something close to 46% next year.

That was the level of the imbalance.

While doing his homework on fiscal and economic matters, he has taken his turn on the international stage to go against international progressivism.

He has criticized Gustavo Petro, Lula Da Silva, and Nicolas Maduro in different matters. Now, before the United Nations Assembly, he said that the 2030 agenda was imposed without any consensus process and that is why he said that nothing of what was proposed there was being fulfilled.

Milei is the rebel child of regional politics today. His detractors will continue to point him out for his radical positions, while his defenders will say that he has the character to do what no one else has ever wanted to do in Argentina’s history. Meanwhile, Milei will continue to comb his hair with the invisible hand. History has the word.