But he fails to note many of the shortcomings of the present government. Notable among them is the alteration of national statistics since the government, by naming only employees beholden to it, has practically destroyed the credibility of the Indec — the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses. Indec inflation statistics are less than half the estimates of impartial observers and economists.

Although Mr. Mount indicates that the government has increased the social safety net by implementing a policy that gives low-income families a monthly stipend of $42 per child, he fails to indicate that the government’s populist policies will quickly fail if the international prices for Argentina’s basic commodities diminish, or trade with key nations like Brazil becomes less favorable.

He mentions the potential educational benefits from government policies, which include — though he doesn’t mention it — the distribution of one million computers to students. However, in talks with several teachers there, I was impressed by their concern for the poor quality of education, something that having a computer will do little to remedy.

Mr. Mount is also impressed by how many Argentines now have access to good Malbec wine. He fails to notice that drinking Malbec doesn’t necessarily translate into correct and sustainable development policies.