Over the last several centuries, Argentina has gone through cycles of chaos, economic freedom, and central planning. The country’s journey from the eighth-richest country in the world in 1910 to later become the IMF’s greatest debtor by the early twenty-first century, highlights the idea that economic freedom is a necessary condition for economic growth. This paper walks through the evolution of the country since 1950 and the current policies of President Javier Milei.

The following graph shows Argentina’s decline, falling from 80% of US GDP in 1910 to ~30% when Milei was inaugurated in December 2023.