Copa America: Argentina enjoys brief respite from economic crises as nation celebrates Messi-led team’s victory

Argentines celebrate Copa América win amid economic crisis, finding temporary escape in football triumph and national pride.

Argentines taking to the streets to revel in their Copa América triumph inhabit a very different place now than they did 19 months ago, when their World Cup win sent millions surging into the same Buenos Aires square in a howl of collective celebration.

“Glorious,” Diego Cáceres, 38, recalled of Argentina's massive open-air party on December 18, 2022.

“This is beautiful, too,” he said of Sunday's crowds cheering and setting off fireworks around the capital's landmark obelisk after Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in extra time to win its third straight major tournament Sunday night.

“But it's a cherry-on-top, or a reminder. It makes me want to go back in time."

Economic crisis has stalked Argentina for years. But today, annual inflation tops 270%. Almost 60% of the country's 45 million people live in poverty.

Argentines have become worn out by the high-stakes anxiety of the news: Anti-government protests raging, labor strikes paralyzing cities, President Javier Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” unveiling new spending cuts. This week their televisions flashed dire warnings about the peso hitting new lows against the dollar, dragging the value of their savings down with it.

The last time Cáceres celebrated his national team in this downtown square, he worked as a cook in various restaurants and rented an apartment. Today, he said, he's unemployed and sleeps on the streets.