Argentina: new face, old problems

Argentina elected left-winger Alberto Fernández as president. The previous business-friendly presidency ended in disaster. But Peronists have an equally calamitous record.

Argentina elected left-winger Alberto Fernndez as president on Sunday, with the Peronist triumphing over centre-right incumbent Mauricio Macri. Macri's term was dogged by an inflation crisis, which ended in a $56bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

Macri's "business-friendly" presidency ended in disaster, says The Economist, but the Peronists who preceded him had an "equally calamitous" record. Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, Argentina's deeply divisive, economically illiterate former leader, is the new vice-president. It remains to be seen how much influence she wields.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.