Last week, the Trump administration stepped in with a $20 billion financial rescue for Argentina that could reach $40 billion, including a currency swap and a rare direct purchase of pesos to shore up the exchange rate. The intervention briefly steadied the markets, lifting Argentine bonds.
But for Javier Milei, Argentina's libertarian president who preaches the gospel of free markets, the need for a U.S. bailout has been a public relations disaster, and his political movement is in crisis. For libertarians, the stakes are high. If Milei succeeds, it will show that radical free market reform is possible in the most adverse political conditions. If he fails, critics will say libertarian policies are impossible to advance in the context of real-world politics. Nearly two years into his presidency, Milei's political movement is struggling.
