School of Social & Political Sciences

What happens when we compare Donald Trump not to his chain saw wielding Argentinian counterpart, Javier Milei, but to an earlier, markedly different populist from Buenos Aires: Juan Perón?

It is not uncommon for people to draw links between the Presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and of the United States, Donald Trump. Certainly, there are some similarities: both have a desire to get rid of allegedly wasteful government spending, and both owe a certain degree of their popularity to their decision to wage a 'war on woke'. 

Yet, a recent article in The Economist argues differently, stating that Milei 'does not belong' to the Trumpian right, possessing, instead, 'quasi-religious zeal for economic freedom' and 'contempt for the state'. This, according to the article, is where Milei differs from Trump; where Trump levies tariffs on trading partners, Milei promotes free trade; where Trump utilises the power of the state for far-reaching industrial stategy, Milei slashes the role of the state in a consistent manner. The argument, broadly, is that where Trump is not beholden to an ideology, being able to determine policy however he sees fit, Milei possesses a much more rigid, neoliberal approach, having an instinct for small-government, and a Thatcherite level of faith in the free market. Essentially, The Economist tells us that the common comparison between Milei and Donald Trump is fundamentally flawed.

The Economist's argument is instinctively persuasive. Whilst the 'war on woke' is an undeniable similiarity between the two, the fact that Trump and Milei's philosophies on trade are diametrically opposed would appear to suggest that describing them as two-peas-in-a-pod is probably not accurate, populist tendencies notwithstanding. 

But this is not the end of the story. Milei is hardy the first Latin American politician to bear populist similarities to Donald Trump. For example, Argentina under the leadership of Juan Perón has been described in the following terms: "(a)ll citizens were not actually equal in Peronist Argentina; rather, Peronist rhetoric aimed to heal a society riven by class distinctions by celebrating the people and vilifying their anti-Peronist enemies". Sounds familiar, right? 

Therefore, if we are to determine, as some do, that Milei and Trump are similiar because of the way in which they use populist rhetoric, surely we have to determine that Perón and Trump are similiar for the same reasons? Clearly, this is not a reasonable proposition. Donald Trump is a populist, as is Javier Milei, as is Juan Perón, as is Lula de Silva, Brazil's President, as was Christina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina's former President. Given the prevelance of populism within discourse about Latin American politics, and the sheer range of types of populism, it does not seem reasonable to assert that any two leaders, such as Trump and Milei, or Trump and Perón, are similar based on their populist tactics. Rather, as The Economist argues, we ought to turn to other aspects of their ideologies, to determine whether there are similarities of note. 

The Economist argues that Trump ought, in fact, to take some lessons from Milei's economic policies. This is ironic, however; Milei was elected, in large part, as a response to Peronism, the durable (albeit flexible) economic ideology which had governed Argentina for decades. Meanwhile, one might argue that Trump's economic and trade policies actually share similarities to Peronism. 

Juan Perón's model of economic development in Argentina relied upon what is known as 'import substitution industrialisation', which has been explained like this: 'Perón rejected open trade and looked at foreign direct investment suspiciously. Tariffs were very high and Argentina started taxing exports. It tried to industrialise and be less dependent on other countries'. This appears consistent with the economic and trade policies of Donald Trump. Indeed, one might describe Trump's implementation of tariffs on a range of goods, such as steel, to be an attempt 'to identify items that consumers were importing and support the initiation of local, domestic manufacturing to take the place of imports': yet, that quote refers not to the economic policies of Donald Trump, but to the import of substitution industrialisation strategies pursued by Latin American leaders such as Juan Perón during the twentieth century.

Obviously, there are differences between the ideologies of the two men: Perón campaigned vigorously for social justice; something that Trump famously rallies against. Indeed, aspects of Peronism are distinctly drawn from socialist traditions; Donald Trump declares that the United States 'will never be a socialist country'. These are fundamental differences between the two men's ideologies, which no amount of similarities in terms of trade policy, or populist rhetoric, can remedy. 

Given those differences, it would be ridiculous to claim that Donald Trump is influenced by Juan Perón. However, the purpose of doing so is to illustrate a similar argument to The Economist; it is not useful to compare two politicians, even when they have similiar traits, when their fundamental ideologies are opposed. Donald Trump is not an anarcho-capitalist like Javier Milei, despite the similarities between the two, and he is not a Peronist like Juan Perón, despite the similarities between the two. 

The Economist argues that Trump should stop being compared to Javier Milei, and should instead learn from his economic policies. I have tried, in this blog, to show that comparing the two shows they have a fundamental ideological difference, as The Economist argued. Yet, given that Milei was elected largely in response to Peronism, and that Trumpian economics share some similiarities with the latter, it seems likely that The Economist's plea for Trump to learn from Milei will fall upon deaf ears. 

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This blog is part of the SPS Student Academic Blog series. You can read more contributions from the series here.

First published: 14 April 2025