Moicano’s Pro-Mises Rant Fuels Free Market Resurgence in Latin America

Renato Moicano’s tribute to Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises during a UFC fight in Brazil has gone viral on social media, sparking debate about the growing influence of free-market ideas in Latin America. The mixed martial artist called for people to read Mises and learn from his teachings after rallying back from an early round beating to win his lightweight bout earlier this month. Moicano’s comments have been praised by right-wing commentators like Ben Shapiro, who has championed the Austrian school of economics in recent years. In South America, Mises is having something of a moment with think tanks and media influencers promoting his ideas gaining influence. This trend can be seen most notably in El Salvador and Argentina where presidents have incorporated some of these principles into their policies. President Nayib Bukele’s remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington earlier this year were described as “language familiar to the Austrians” by a blog post on the Mises Institute website, while his ideas align with those espoused by former Argentinian president Javier Milei, who retweeted Moicano’s speech. Some experts believe that in Buenos Aires, Mise’s influence may be at its strongest due to President Milei himself being a libertarian economist and the deregulation policies he has pushed since taking office last year. However, some argue that his anti-socialist rhetoric is more reminiscent of Mises than specific policy proposals. As Moicano’s clip went viral in July 2019, Google search interest for Ludwig von Mises hit its highest level since 2016 according to the company.