Tuesday, September 30, 2025
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT
The Georgetown Americas Institute invites you to a discussion on Argentina’s shifting political and economic outlook under President Javier Milei. Recent elections in the province of Buenos Aires delivered a rebuke to Mileis' Libertad Avanza party as the Peronist opposition won roughly 47 percent of the vote —an electoral defeat that many interpret as a signal of eroding support for his libertarian agenda. At the same time, U.S. officials are in active talks to extend Argentina a financial lifeline—a proposed $20 billion swap line, debt purchases, and standby credit—to shore up Milei’s reformist project and stabilize market confidence.
In this volatile moment, key questions loom:
How should we interpret the electoral setback in Buenos Aires? Does it reflect tactical resistance to austerity, ideological fatigue, or changing voter priorities?
Can Milei continue pushing his “shock therapy” reforms in the face of weakened political backing?
To what extent can the promised U.S. support serve as a sufficient buffer to avoid liquidity crises and preserve reform momentum?
What scenarios are plausible for the rest of his presidency, both politically and economically?
To engage these pressing issues, the Georgetown Americas Institute is honored to host Rodrigo Zarazaga, S.J., director of CIAS, in conversation with Alejandro Werner, founding director of GAI. Together, they will offer analysis of the challenges and inflection points ahead for Argentina.
Featuring
Rev. Rodrigo Zarazaga, S.J., is a visiting fellow with the Georgetown Americas Institute as well as director and lead researcher of the Instituto Universitario Centro de Investigación y Acción Social (CIAS). He is a Jesuit priest and holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, a postdoctoral certificate from the University of Notre Dame, as well as a bachelor of philosophy and bachelor of theology at the University of Buenos Aires. Zarazaga is also an adjunct researcher at the National Council for Science Research Research Techniques in Argentina (CONICET). His work focuses on the issues of redistribution, poverty, clientelism, and electoral politics. Author of the book The Poverty of a Rich Country (2002) and compiler of "Infinite Conurbano: Political and Social Actors, Between State Presence and Illegality (2017), his research has been published in Latin American Politics and Society, Journal of Theoretical Politics, World Development, Journal of Democracy, Journal of Applied Economics, Postscript, SAAP Magazine, as well as studies in comparative international development, governance, and economic development. Zarazaga has been awarded honors such as the Konex Award 2018 Diploma of Merit and Social Leaders; he cofounded the group Seamos Uno. He has been interviewed and has published numerous articles in media outlets such as La Nation, Clarín, Page 12, Profile, El Pais, the Economist, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the WCNN, Radio Mitre, Radio Continental, and Radio 10.
Alejandro Werner is the founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to that appointment, he was undersecretary of finance and public credit in Mexico’s Finance Ministry and held several positions in that ministry and the Central Bank. He also taught at leading universities in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics from ITAM.