While on his 19th trip to his preferred destination—where he was honored as a “World Champion of Free Enterprise” by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—so-called law enforcement forces attacked thousands of students. The students were holding a peaceful demonstration to demand the implementation of the University Financing Law, which had been vetoed by the long-haired, reactionary libertarian.

Foreign news agencies described the actions as brutal and unprovoked of the gendarmes with water cannons and tear gas—an action that resulted in an as-yet-undetermined number of injuries and arrests.

Germán Martínez, head of the *Unión por la Patria* bloc in the Chamber of Deputies, sharply criticized the police operation. "The repression they are carrying out makes no sense at all. The march was proceeding in a completely normal and peaceful manner," he stated, noting that even lawmakers were affected by the tear gas.

Following the conclusion of the session in the lower house—during which the ruling coalition managed to block the consideration of the bill—a group of *Unión por la Patria* deputies reported difficulties in reaching the plaza in front of Congress, where they had intended to intervene to stop the police restriction.

Amid a heavy security presence, students, graduates, faculty, and administrative staff mobilized to demand funding for universities. In the Chamber of Deputies, the ruling coalition and its allies denied a quorum for the session called by the opposition to reject Milei’s "mega-decree."

While failing to comply with the university funding law, the government has renewed its push for audits, giving universities a 15-day deadline to submit their 2027 work plans and justify their budgets.

Through this political maneuver—disguised as an administrative procedure—the government has resumed its campaign to cast doubt on university spending. It had previously done so in 2024, just months after taking office, when Milei himself labeled university rectors "thieves."

Meanwhile, as Milei spoke in the United States, a key financial indicator—the "country risk" index—continued to climb, reaching 640 points this Thursday. True to form, the president manipulated the data to present his own version of reality. “If we look strictly at the country risk under our administration, the figure for next year is below 100 points. The fact is that Argentina is transitioning from the end of the old model toward the beginning of a new Argentina,” he stated.

In the same manner, he added that “Argentines will choose the path of progress, because the alternative is the past—and no one will want to return to that, as societies do not commit suicide. I have full confidence that we will be able to validate this model at the ballot box.”

Beyond his usual rhetoric regarding the state of the country when he took office in December 2023—and his claims that his policies of austerity and deregulation have “improved” indicators for poverty, unemployment, and country risk—Milei elaborated on what he calls a “growth model with increasing returns.”

In an effort to instill confidence in potential investors, the president—who, it should be noted, has now also earned the title of “World Champion of Free Enterprise”—shared details about a document he plans to present alongside his advisor, former Nucleoeléctrica president Demian Reidel. The document will explain how to “capture” these increasing returns and how individuals might “reallocate their free time” to work more and, “ultimately, end up satisfied.”

“Socialist ideas destroy the work ethic; they reward the lazy. Such a society generates little capital and ends up collapsing.” “But if people make an effort, they can move out of a bad equilibrium and toward a good one—and that brings tangible rewards in terms of well-being,” he said.

Milei emphasized the importance of “killing off regulations to generate increasing returns, thereby driving economic growth.” Yet, what he hinted at—albeit indirectly—is that this growth comes at the cost of the population working longer hours, with less leisure time and no protections under labor laws.

“We are truly freeing Argentines from their chains!” he exclaimed to the audience, asserting that the country “should triple its level of openness” to allow for the entry of foreign products.

“Unfortunately, there are always collateral effects; this creates winners and losers, and leads to a reallocation of resources—causing some sectors to expand, others to shrink, and some to go bankrupt,” he admitted.

The fact is, the “chainsaw” of libertarianism doesn’t destroy the “culture of work”; it simply destroys work itself.

Meanwhile, the deterioration of corporate credit has emerged as a major red flag in Argentina’s economic landscape. In September, 1,937 additional companies fell into sum unpaid—a 3.5% jump compared to August.

The trend appears even more concerning when viewed over the medium term: the number of firms with an irregular status within the banking system has climbed to 58,982—a 53% year-on-year increase.

This combination of delinquency and insolvency has hit private-sector risk indicators hard. The Economic and Financial Risk Score (SERF), developed by the consultancy firm Fidelitas, fell 0.6 points from the previous month to 37.7—a figure that keeps the business sector firmly in the “High Risk” category.

Against this backdrop—as the Milei administration attempts to conceal its problems, deceiving public opinion—it is worth recalling that Steve Bannon, an advisor to Trump, once said that the media and social networks should be flooded with disinformation, false debates, and constant noise to confuse both the press and the public, and to exhaust their attention. Once that is achieved, one can move forward without opposition.

The truth—and the answer—can be found in the work of Rothbard, Milei’s mentor, and his drive to concentrate all wealth within foreign power centers. That is why Argentina is being emptying out.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff