Socialism Didn't Work In Argentina. It Won't Work For America Either.To understand this week's election, look to economic and political lessons from Argentina.
Peter Suderman
11.6.2025
To understand why Democrats overperformed in this week's elections, look to Argentina.
Last month, Argentinian president Javier Milei won an unexpectedly large electoral affirmation, as his party significantly outperformed expectations by more than doubling its congressional representation in what was widely seen as a referendum on his agenda.
Over the past two years, Milei, the world's most libertarian national leader, has slashed spending, cut red tape, and made his top priority restoring economic order and prosperity to a country that has long been a socialist basket case. Critics warned that his policies would be destructive, destabilizing, and unpopular. But not only did he deliver the country's first balanced budget in over a decade, he oversaw a radical decline in inflation—from 200 percent when he entered office down to 32 percent last month.
Despite warnings that the country would reject Milei's brand of austerity, the country responded with a strong vindication of his policies. In a post-election analysis, The New York Times noted that Milei's message was that only he offered a "path for a country that has undergone years of runaway inflation under high-spending populist governments." The report pointed to Milei's economic record to explain his party's win: "Many Argentines had grown tired of prices swinging wildly from day to day and of a ruling class they considered to be corrupt and irresponsible."
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Inflation and economic instability have long been political losers: Look at Ronald Reagan's victory over Jimmy Carter in 1980, and his ensuing near-sweep of states in 1984 after taming a decade of out of control price hikes. The post-pandemic years have further reinforced this lesson.
This week's referendums reinforced that idea, as voters rejected Trump's economy by voting for Democrats who promised to bring down the cost of living. As Derek Thompson wrote today, Democrats in the three biggest races embraced a message of affordability and pinned the blame for persistent economic anxiety on Trump.
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Source:
https://reason.com/2025/11/06/socialism-didnt-work-in-argentina-it-wont-work-for-america-either/
