Days before last year’s presidential election in Argentina, supermarket worker Emir Gullo was excited about the idea of a madman as president.
“He’s crazy,” Gullo said admiringly at a rally for libertarian economist and then-candidate Javier Milei on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in late 2023, noting his eccentric image, unconventional ideas and lack of government experience. “We’re tired of the same old politicians who say they’ll fix things and never do. We have faith that a madman can change Argentina.”
A year into his tenure, Milei appears to be proving Gullo right. Having taken over an economy on the brink of hyperinflation, Milei slashed the monthly inflation rate from 26 per cent last December to 2.7 per cent in October. The chronically depreciating peso — which Milei compared to “excrement” last year — has strengthened significantly against the black market dollar over the past six months. Since his election, Argentina’s long-distressed sovereign bond prices have roughly tripled.