Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s final days in office are in sight. On October 25th, Argentina will go to the voting booth to elect a president whose name isn’t Kirchner for the first time in twelve years. For many Argentines, this day can’t come soon enough.

The Kirchner movement, which commenced under the late Néstor Kirchner and is now known as Kirchnerismo, has marred the nation with a toxic mix of failed populist policies, crony capitalism, the depletion of national reserves, and unrelenting corruption. According to the 2015 Bloomberg Misery Index, only Venezuela outranks Argentina in misery (measured by the unemployment rate plus the change in the consumer price index). Just like Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and the Castros in Cuba, the guardians of Kirchnerismo are quick to point the finger at anyone but themselves for their failed policies — and they usually point it at the United States. But the blame starts and ends with the Kirchner family.

In 2001, Argentina experienced the largest financial crisis in its history when the country defaulted on its sovereign debt. Economic growth had already been negative in every year since 1998, but the ensuing devaluation of the Argentine peso caused the economy to contract by 11 percent, propelling the relatively unknown Peronista candidate, Néstor Kirchner, into the presidential office in 2003. In his first term, he expanded government to the point that the state owned 23 of the 25 largest employers. He regulated prices on private industries via fixed tariffs, effectively stunting direct foreign investment, and heavily subsidized the energy and transportation sectors. These subsidies remain unsustainable and, in reality, only benefit the rich. As inflation reached 15 percent during his first term, he did little to curb it.