Argentina Leaves Evita Behind

As the warm winds return, the days lengthen and the jacaranda trees explode in a riot of purple along its main avenues, Buenos Aires is also enjoying the afterglow of President Mauricio Macri and his Cambiemos coalition’s resounding October win. All the big cities and provinces went their way -- the first time a party has swept the national electoral field since Argentina's return to democracy in the 1980s.

The midterm election upended two constants of Argentine politics. The first was the idea that a business-oriented party can’t compete. Macri and his coalition have now won twice, and gained national traction with time. The second is that the Peronist party, the dominant political force of 20th-century Argentina, can’t lose. Yet it collapsed. These two seismic political shifts are partly the result of savvy leadership. But they also reflect fundamental shifts in Argentina’s economy and society.