How Milei’s Tax Cuts Are Driving the Left’s Hardliners to Despair

As he enters the final year of his current term, Argentina’s President Javier Milei can look back on a strong record of reform. 

Thomas Kolbe | October 9, 2026

As he enters the final year of his current term, Argentina’s President Javier Milei can look back on a strong record of reform. Deregulation, tax cuts, and the rollback of the state apparatus have revived the domestic economy. Yet Milei’s reelection hangs in the balance -- and a return to socialism remains possible.

Much has been written about Javier Milei, Argentina’s libertarian president. A media professional, blunt and loud, whose trademark chainsaw became an emblem in the fight against bureaucracy and socialism. The economist, entrepreneur, and jack-of-all-trades, born in Buenos Aires, has now been in office for three years. A coalition of libertarian and conservative parties backs his policies, and his record is difficult to ignore.

When Milei assumed the Argentine presidency in December 2023, the enthusiasm surrounding his radical promises propelled him into office. The state was to shrink, taxes were to fall dramatically, and the market was once again to direct investment. Milei also declared war on inflation, the consequence of government debt and the recurring crises of the national currency, the peso.

It did not take long for him to achieve something remarkable: In 2024, the government budget posted a surplus for the first time in 14 years. Even after deducting interest payments, which accounted for around 7.3 percent of government expenditure, a small financing surplus remained. Milei has since cut spending and dismissed around 34,000 government employees. Such a policy does not make you many friends, as the Argentine is now painfully discovering in light of his poor polling numbers. A genuine reform process needs to be carefully calibrated in order not to lose large parts of the electorate along the way and, ultimately, play into the hands of political opponents.

Milei also........

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