Juan David Rojas, Compact Magazine

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled that the Trump administration is committed to doing what is necessary to stabilize Argentina amid fears of another inflationary spiral. “All options for stabilization are on the table,” he declared “including swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of dollar-denominated debt” held by Argentina. In response, Argentine President and Trump ally Javier Milei thanked Bessent for his “unconditional support.” The next day, at a meeting with Milei at the United Nations, President Trump agreed to help his Argentine counterpart, but downplayed talk of a bailout, likely due to pushback from the MAGA base. 

While the exact scope of US assistance remains unclear, one thing is certain: Far from solving Argentina’s woes, Milei’s libertarian experiment has failed to address the root causes of the crisis, ironically creating the need for intervention by a foreign state.

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