How did the emperor of soccer, Argentina, fall victim to the economic crisis?

In Argentina, Lionel Messi and his compatriot footballers have for the past month created a cause for success and unity for their fans in stark contrast to the country’s economic woes and divisive political landscape.

Years of economic crisis have weighed heavily on the daily lives of people in a country where nearly 40 percent live in poverty as rampant inflation and a depreciating currency erode ordinary people’s savings and purchasing power. Is.

Yet on Sunday the entire country was draped in the national colors of blue and white as political and sporting rivalries were put aside and 4.5 million people celebrated their first World Cup win in 36 years.

But experts say this euphoria will not last long.

“What happens is that sport, and football in particular in Argentina, has the ability to unite us through emotion, and it is very important in terms of national symbolism,” sociologist Rodrigo Dascal told AFP.

‘But that doesn’t mean it can be effectively transferred to other sectors.’

The beginning of economic depression

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Argentina’s per capita income was higher than that of countries such as Italy, Japan, and France. In 1895, according to some estimates, it also had the highest per capita income worldwide. In addition, Argentina’s six percent annual GDP growth for the 43 years before World War I is the fastest in recorded history.

Argentina’s impressive economic performance was not just due to raw material exports. Industrial production tripled between 1900 and 1914, reaching levels of industrial growth similar to those of Germany and Japan.

All this was accompanied by an extraordinary pace of social development in the country. In 1869, 12 to 15 percent of the economically active population belonged to the middle class. By 1914, this number had reached 40 percent. At the same time, the level of illiteracy decreased to less than half.

Argentina’s prosperity was founded by Juan Bautista Alberdi (1810-1884), the author of the country’s 1853 constitution. An admirer of the American Founding Fathers, Alberdi envisioned the Constitution so that government would be limited in its ability to interfere with economic freedom and individual liberties.

Alberdi explained that Argentina’s federal constitution ‘includes a complete system of economic policy insofar as it guarantees the free action of labor, capital and land as the main agents of production through strict provisions.’

Despite the success of the 1853 constitution, an ideological shift towards collectivism began to emerge in the first decades of the 20th century. With the election of General Juan Domingo Perón in the 1940s, Peronism—a local version of fascism—dominated economic and social life.

Under Perón, the constitution was reformed, free trade was restricted, public spending increased, leading to explosive inflation, prices were controlled, and dozens of companies were nationalized. .

Unlike other countries that later abandoned the anti-market policies adopted during the 1930s, Peronism became so embedded in Argentina’s institutions and political culture that the country was never able to regain economic independence.

At the time of Perón’s death in 1975, during his third term as president, Argentina ranked 100th out of 106 countries on the Economic Freedom Index published by Canada’s Fraser Institute. In 2020, it was ranked 161 out of 165 countries.

As a result, Argentina – once one of the richest countries in the world – has become a corrupt, impoverished, rentier society with chronic inflation of more than 100 percent a year, a poverty rate of more than 43 percent, and young professionals. A large number of unemployed people migrate in search of better opportunities elsewhere.

However, something seems to be changing in Argentina’s intellectual and political climate. A free market movement is gaining support, especially among younger generations.

The main leader of this movement is Javier Milli, a charismatic professor of economics who does not hesitate to say that the term ‘social justice’ is just a pretext used by politicians to steal public money, that the government of the country The source of most of the problems is that the country should dollarize its economy.

Popular support for Javier Milli’s message is growing so fast that his pro-market coalition, Avanza Libertad, became the third largest political force in the city of Buenos Aires in last year’s legislative elections. Milli, who was himself elected to Congress, has also done surprisingly well among the city’s poorest voters, among whom his base of support is likely to expand any time between the September 2021 primary and the November general election. Increased more than other candidates.

Axel Kaiser is a senior fellow at the Atlas Network’s Center for Latin America and a fellow at the Arkbridge Institute in Washington, DC. Regardless of whether he succeeds in his 2023 presidential campaign, Milli’s message has already changed the political debate in Argentina, he says.

Some surveys show that 42 percent consider free market movements a positive development for the country. This remarkable shift in public sentiment may indicate that Argentines from all social classes are now willing to support comprehensive free market reforms. With a change of regime and the end of Peronism, the chance for Argentina to emulate their football success in the economic arena seems more realistic than ever.

(Editing: Haroon Rasheed)