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 sternly warned about the alleged dangers that a potential presidency of Javier Milei would entail.

The letter predicted "economic devastation and social chaos" if the then-libertarian candidate came to power, describing 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. In just a few months since the start of his administration, Javier Milei has not only avoided the feared collapse, but has also achieved concrete progress in terms of macroeconomic stabilization, consolidating twin surpluses—fiscal and trade—and containing inflation that seemed out of control. The intellectual establishment that predicted the apocalypse is now beginning to backtrack, acknowledging, even if only indirectly, the error of their diagnoses.

This change in tone is not insignificant. It reflects a growing phenomenon: the inability of traditional analysts to understand disruptive political phenomena when these do not fit into the ideological frameworks 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 Guardian letter 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 breathing room, citizen support, and international respect, even from former detractors.

It is clear that the real "chaos" was that of an intellectual class unable to anticipate the success of a model that prioritizes freedom, fiscal responsibility, and institutional honesty.