In Case You Missed It

House Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill (AR-02) published a new op-ed in the Washington Times. In his piece, the Chairman explores the history of the "Chicago Boys" in the 1970-1980s and the parallels between the extraordinary and economic transition in that era in Chile and the one we are currently witnessing in Argentina's economy under President Javier Milei. 

Read the Chairman’s full op-ed here or below:

The citizens of the Windy City possess a knack for rebuilding after times of ruin. After the Great Chicago Fire destroyed a third of the city in 1871, creative Chicago architects rallied and in just a few years rebuilt the city which included the world’s first skyscraper. This spirit of resilience was not confined to the borders of Chicago.

In the 1970s and 1980s, a group of Chilean students studied economics at the University of Chicago. With their studies under Nobel Prize laureate Milton Friedman, the “Chicago Boys” singlehandedly rebuilt the then decimated Chilean economy. Through their avocation of free-market principles, a government that had once nationalized private companies, stoked hyperinflation and fixed prices created an economic miracle – the economy took off like a rocket, while the poverty rate sank like a cement block in Lake Michigan. The spirit of the Chicago Boys may have reemerged.

I recently led a bipartisan delegation of members of Congress to Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru to meet with government officials. While in Argentina, we met with President Javier Milei, Minister of the Economy Luis Caputo, head of the Argentinian Central Bank Santiago Bausili, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerardi Werthein. President Milei and his administration are undertaking unprecedented economic reforms in his country of nearly 46 million citizens. If successful, he reverses 150 years of macro financial disappointment to creditors and Argentine citizens alike.

Since December 2023, Milei has ushered in a new era of economic growth in Argentina fueled by deregulation, an embrace of free markets, and trade liberalization. So far, the numbers speak for themselves.

Annual inflation in Argentina plummeted from nearly 300% in April 2024 to a five-year low of 36.6% in July 2025 – without ex-president Kirchner-esque data manipulation – impressive for a nation that had chronic hyperinflation as high as 3,079% in 1990. This dramatic turnaround underscores Argentina’s fight to return to economic stability.

Milei scored the nation’s first budget surplus in 14 years by the end of 2024. Argentina witnessed its poverty rate fall from 53% to 38%. Simultaneously, the childhood poverty rate dropped by 14 percentage points, uplifting 1.7 million children. A few months later, the Argentinian economy grew by 5.8%, the fastest growth rate since 2022.

In April 2025, Milei lifted capital controls, with Morgan Stanley estimating that removing those controls brought in $2.5 billion in foreign investment alone – more than 2.5 times the amount of foreign direct investment received in 2024. The move signaled to global markets that Argentina is open for business and willing to embrace policies that attract long-term investment. 

Throughout our meetings in Paraguay and Peru, the timeless principles of market economies and the success of the “Chicago Boys’” successfully influenced Paraguay Finance Minister Carlos Fernández cut payroll spending while increasing efficiency in tax collection, shoring up additional government revenue and shrinking its fiscal deficits. Additionally, the Central Bank of Paraguay advanced a handful of financial and foreign exchange regulatory reforms to encourage foreign investment. As a result, Moody’s increased the nation’s creditworthiness and Paraguay can tap international markets in both dollars and local currency, the Guarani.

In Peru, Central Reserve Bank of Peru President Julio Velarde tamed COVID-era inflation quickly. More impressively, he has developed the central bank’s reputation as fiercely independent despite several years of political turmoil. Since then, Peruvians witnessed strong domestic demand yield, solid economic growth, and private investment recovery, while inflation remains well anchored in their central bank’s 1-3% target range. This provides a sound economic backdrop for the Peruvians to continue their goals for fiscal restraint.

When President Milei completes his transition and demonstrates his ability to refinance his existing debt on global markets, he will go down in history along with the success of the Chicago boys in Santiago, Chile and extraordinary, economic, and democratic transition in Taiwan and South Korea during the similar period. President Milei and I may not have grown up in Illinois, but we are “Chicago Boys” at heart. Decreasing government spending, eliminating inflation, reducing red tape, nixing trade barriers, and encouraging free markets promote economic growth and eliminate poverty. I hope other nations take note.