Argentina now shares the world's worst industrial performance with Hungary, according to a devastating new United Nations analysis that exposes the human cost of President Javier Milei's radical free-market experiment.
Industrial production has collapsed 7.9 percent between 2023 and 2025, wiping out nearly 79,000 formal manufacturing jobs and shuttering close to 2,900 companies, according to data compiled by the Audemus consulting firm from UN statistics covering 80 economies.
The numbers tell a story of systematic deindustrialization. Industrial capacity utilization has plummeted to 54.1 percent in early 2026—the lowest level for a first two-month period in over a decade. Of 16 major industrial sectors analyzed, 14 are contracting. Metalworking, textiles, and automotive manufacturing face the most severe declines.
This isn't just an Argentina story—it's a test case for libertarian economics at scale, and the results are grim. While Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay posted positive industrial growth during the same period, Argentina stands alone in regional collapse.
The Audemus report attributes the crisis directly to Milei's policy cocktail: rapid trade liberalization that flooded local markets with imports, currency appreciation that priced Argentine goods out of competition, slashed public investment, and the elimination of incentives that sustained domestic industry.
Industry groups warn the worst may be ahead. With international brands now competing directly against weakened local manufacturers and no recovery signals visible, experts predict further deindustrialization throughout 2026. The question facing Latin America's second-largest economy: How long can a nation sustain this kind of productive collapse before the social fabric tears?
Twenty countries, 650 million people. Argentina's experiment matters far beyond Buenos Aires—because if radical libertarian shock therapy can work anywhere, it should work in a resource-rich nation with an educated workforce and deep industrial tradition. The UN data suggests it isn't working at all.
Somos nuestra propia historia—and Argentina is writing a chapter the rest of the region is watching with alarm.
