The Milei Earthquake

This book offers the first English-language, book-length analysis of Javier Milei’s rise and early presidency and how it caused a major disruption in Argentina’s political system. Situating Argentina’s 2023 election amid economic crisis, party-system erosion, and elite discredit, the book examines the multifaceted dimensions of the Milei phenomenon through a comprehensive framework that encompasses both structural and agency-based explanations of his political success. The author adopts a multi-dimensional approach, integrating electoral analysis, organizational studies, symbolic politics, discourse analysis, coalition dynamics, international relations, and democratic theory to provide a holistic understanding of this transformative political moment. Each analytical dimension contributes essential insights into how an outsider candidate successfully challenged entrenched political elites and fundamentally altered Argentina's political landscape. The broader implications of Milei's presidency extend beyond Argentina's borders, offering valuable insights into contemporary patterns of political disruption, democratic transformation, and the rise of anti-establishment movements throughout Latin America and the Global South. His presidency serves as a critical case study for understanding how economic crisis, institutional decay, and social fragmentation create opportunities for radical political alternatives to emerge and consolidate power. So, the analysis presented in this book contributes to ongoing scholarly debates about democratic resilience, populist politics, and the conditions under which transformative political change becomes possible in contemporary democratic systems. The original manuscript of this book was written in Spanish and translated into English with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.