From Alarmism to Surrender: How Milei Disarmed His International Critics

In November 2023, a group of more than 100 internationally renowned economists—including Thomas Piketty, Jayati Ghosh, José Antonio Ocampo, and Branko Milanovic—signed an open letter published in The Guardian, in which they severely warned about the supposed dangers of a potential presidency of Javier Milei.

The letter predicted "economic devastation and social chaos" if the then-libertarian candidate came to power, labeling his dollarization proposal as "economically unfeasible" and his ideological positions as a direct threat to the country's democratic and social stability.

Time, however, has done its work. Just a few months into his administration, Javier Milei has not only avoided the feared collapse, but has achieved concrete advances in macroeconomic stabilization, consolidating twin surpluses—fiscal and commercial—and containing an inflation that seemed out of control. The intellectual establishment that predicted the apocalypse is now beginning to retreat, acknowledging, albeit indirectly, the error of their diagnoses.

Ian Bremmer: from collapse forecast to recognition of achievements

One of the most emblematic cases of this discursive surrender is that of geopolitical analyst Ian Bremmer. On his social media, the founder of Eurasia Group stated on November 19, 2023, hours after Milei's victory, that the country would face an imminent economic collapse and described the president-elect as a "chainsaw-wielding anarcho-capitalist." Today, in an unexpected turn, Bremmer acknowledges in Time that "the skeptics (myself included) are in retreat" and highlights the effectiveness with which Milei has addressed the chronic dysfunctionality of the Argentine economy.

This change of tone is not minor. It reflects a growing phenomenon: the inability of traditional analysts to understand disruptive political phenomena when they do not fit into the ideological molds inherited from the Keynesian consensus. Milei's figure challenges that logic: he has demonstrated that it is possible to implement shock reforms with democratic legitimacy, in a hostile context, and without concessions to the usual populism.

The letter from The Guardian now stands as a testament to the collective error of an international academic elite that spoke more from prejudice than from rigorous analysis. Far from the predicted devastation, Milei's government has gained political oxygen, citizen support, and international respect, even from former detractors.

It is clear that the real "chaos" was that of an intellectuality incapable of anticipating the success of a model that prioritizes freedom, fiscal responsibility, and institutional honesty.