In August 2025, he was confirmed as La Libertad Avanza's lead candidate for the Chamber of Deputies in Buenos Aires Province, amid controversy over his links to businessman Federico Machado. He resigned from the candidacy on 5 October 2025 following the ensuing scandal, and stepped down as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee the following day.
Espert supportsfree trade, proposes to deepen the commercial opening with the world, and attacksMercosur for what he describes as its limitations to this. He is against the "corporations that devour the country"; he proposes that the country "change the system for another". With his ideology, he seeks to position himself as the only representative ofliberalism.[3]
He started working at the Miguel Ángel Broda firm where he was amonetary policy analyst, later to become a chief economist at the same institution. He also worked as aneconometrist at Estudio Arriazu firm and was a partner at Econométrica S.A.[4] In 2000, he founded his own firm, Estudio Espert,[5] which offers macroeconomic consultancy and Asset Management.
He is a member of the Argentine Association of Political Economy (Asociación Argentina de Economía Política). He was Econometrics professor atUBA and Public Finances professor atUCEMA.
He was a columnist in different newspapers, such asLa Nación andEl País from Uruguay.[6] In 2015, he was interviewed by José del Río at aLa Nación program, which became the second-most viewed interview of the year.[7]
Espert's proposals consist of lowering public spending, forming an agency similar to the US Drug Control Administration to combat drug trafficking, lowering taxes, decriminalizing personalmarijuana use, decriminalizing abortion and reforming the education system throughschool vouchers.
He opposes industrial promotion regimes and believes that theright to strike has gone too far, harmed even the worker himself. Therefore, he seeks a labor, tax and state reform in general. He also showed himself in favor of privatizing inefficient state companies and the retirement system, to turn it into an individual capitalization system such as inChile.
Espert signed theMadrid Charter, a document drafted by theconservative Spanish political partyVox that describes left-wing groups as enemies ofIbero-America involved in a "criminal project" that are "under the umbrella of the Cuban regime".[9]
In the 2021 legislative elections, theFrente Despertar alliance was renamed Avanza Libertad and nominated Espert andCarolina Píparo as candidates for theChamber of Deputies representing Buenos Aires Province.[10] Initially, Javier Milei was expected to run for Buenos Aires City under the same banner. Espert sought an agreement with the opposition coalitionJuntos por el Cambio to form what he described as "a broad front to defeat Kirchnerism," but, according to him, theCivic Coalition and the Radical Civic Union rejected the proposal.[10] The list obtained 669,865 votes, representing 7.5 percent of the total, and both Espert and Píparo were elected to Congress.[11]
In January 2024, Espert was appointed chair of the Budget and Finance Committee in the Chamber of Deputies.[12] After meeting with President Javier Milei at theCasa Rosada, Milei welcomed him to the "forces of heaven," referring to his incorporation into the ruling bloc.[13]
A year later, in September 2025, following the release of an international investigation linking him to businessman Federico Machado, lawmakers fromUnion for the Homeland, the Left Front, provincial blocs, and theCivic Coalition called for his removal as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.[14] On 6 October 2025, Espert resigned from both the chairmanship and the committee itself to avoid being formally ousted during the session scheduled for Wednesday, 8 October.[15] He communicated his decision through a letter addressed to the president of the Chamber,Martín Menem.[15]
On 14 August 2025, Sebastián Pareja, president ofLa Libertad Avanza inBuenos Aires Province, confirmed that Espert would lead the party's list for thenational congressional elections, describing him as "the visible face" of the campaign.[16] In late September, media outlets reported that court documents fromTexas linked Espert to a 2020 bank transfer of US$200,000 from a trust associated with businessman Federico Machado, who was charged in the United States withdrug trafficking andmoney laundering.[17][18]
Espert denied any wrongdoing, claiming the payment was part of a legitimate consulting contract with aGuatemalan firm.[19]PresidentJavier Milei publicly defended him,[20] while other government officials called for further clarification.[20][21][22] Following the controversy,[23] La Libertad Avanza suspended several campaign events.[24][25]
On 5 October, Espert announced his resignation as a candidate for deputy in Buenos Aires Province, stating on Twitter that he was the target of "a politically orchestrated operation" and would prove his innocence "before the courts, without privileges."[26] President Milei accepted his resignation the same day, saying that "Argentina stands above individuals."[27]
Espert, José Luis;López Murphy, Ricardo (12 April 2017).La Argentina devorada: Cómo sindicatos, empresarios prebendarios y políticos sabotean el desarrollo del país y cómo vencerlos para despegar (in Spanish). Editorial Galerna. p. 472.ISBN978-9505567003.
Espert, José Luis (February 2019).La sociedad cómplice: Los mitos económicos que llevaron a la Argentina a la decadencia y qué hacer para corregirlos (in Spanish). Sudamericana. p. 360.ISBN978-9500762571.
Espert, José Luis; Rosales, Luis Alberto (December 2020).No va más: La Argentina que destruyeron (in Spanish). Sudamericana. p. 240.ISBN978-9500765077.
Espert, José Luis (May 2023).La Argentina deseada: Cómo lograr el desarrollo del país que merecemos (in Spanish). Sudamericana. p. 256.ISBN978-9500768931.
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