With hardly any outside aid, the first signs of economic liberalization appeared, the dollar was decriminalized, and some small private businesses emerged. While the government loosened its grip, it began to thoroughly study other cases of authoritarian regimes that had transitioned toward a certain degree of openness—economic rather than political—thinking about how to survive without ever relinquishing power.
Youth-led protests under a loose gen-Z banner began as a demonstration against a brief social media ban, but were fed by wider grievances at corruption and a woeful economy. Nearly 19 million voters will choose who replaces the interim government in place since the September 2025 uprising, in which at least 77 people were killed, and parliament and scores of government buildings were torched.
Politicians must stop prioritising socially and ecologically destructive growth that only increases the profits and serves the consumption demands of the world's richest individuals and corporations. Instead, to tackle the interwoven crises of rising inequality, ecological collapse and a resurgent far-right politics, a new economic agenda is needed.
"Perhaps we didn't make it clear quickly enough after the change of government that we couldn't accomplish this enormous reform effort overnight," Merz told them, adding: "I accept this criticism." But, in a speech that fired up delegates in the southern city of Stuttgart, he vowed "to motivate us to peak performance" rather than "be dragged down by pessimism, fatalism and intellectual laziness".
BUENOS AIRES Argentines woke up to a politically emboldened President Javier Milei after a dramatic victory in mid- term elections on Sunday. The libertarian president and staunch Donald Trump ally secured more than 40% of the popular vote, and solidified his hold on power in the National Congress, where he had previously struggled to push parts of his agenda through.
Merz has made boosting Europe's biggest economy a priority but critics charge that, after four months in power, his government is moving too slowly and not living up to its promises of reform. During a meeting Monday with leaders of Germany's four top business associations, Merz faced a dressing-down for failing to take strong action in areas ranging from welfare reform to tackling onerous red tape, tabloid Bild reported.
