Argentina elects Javier Milei as its new president

The news: Argentina has elected libertarian outsider Javier Milei as its new president, counting on his radical views to fix an economy battered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty.

The numbers: Milei will face enormous challenges as he deals with the empty coffers of the government and central bank, a creaking $44 billion debt program with the International Monetary Fund, inflation nearing 150% and a dizzying array of capital controls.

The context: Official results have not been released, but Milei's rival, Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, conceded in a speech. His candidacy was hampered by the country's worst economic crisis in two decades while he has been at the helm. Milei is pledging economic shock therapy. His plans include shutting the central bank, ditching the peso and slashing spending, potentially painful reforms that have resonated with voters angry at the economic malaise but sparked fears of austerity in others.