Argentina’s President Javier Milei hailed his party’s runaway victory in midterm elections as a “turning point” for the country and vowed to charge ahead with his agenda of shrinking the state and deregulating the economy.
Milei’s small La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party rebounded from a series of setbacks to win 40.84 per cent of the votes cast for members of Congress, far outpacing the opposition in an election closely watched by investors.
“Today we reached a turning point, today begins the construction of a great Argentina,” the 55-year-old president told supporters at a victory party in Buenos Aires.
He promised to continue on the reform path with what he predicted would be “the most reformist Congress in Argentina’s history”.
Half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the Senate seats were up for grabs.
Milei said LLA had more than tripled its seat count, winning 101 seats in the lower house, Chamber of Deputies, up from 37, and 20 seats in the Senate, up from six.
‘Forward, not backwards’
The centre-left Peronist movement, in power for much of Argentina’s post-war history, trailed in second place with 31.64 per cent.
“Far more Argentines want to move forward than go backwards,” Milei said on the demise of the opposition.
The elections were the first national test of Milei’s support since he won office two years ago on a promise to revive the long-ailing Argentinian economy through a series of reforms.
The run-up to the vote was marked by a run on the national currency, the peso, that forced Milei to seek a bailout from United States President Donald Trump, a close ally.
The US promised an unprecedented $40 billion aid package, but the assistance came with a warning from Trump to Argentinians that he would not “be generous” if the election did not go Milei’s way.
Trump congratulated Milei on his party’s election victory.
“Congratulations to President Javier Milei on his Landslide Victory in Argentina. He is doing a wonderful job! Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform during an Asia tour.
Argentina’s public wary of past economic crises
Gustavo Cordoba, the director of the Argentine Zuban Cordoba polling firm, said he was surprised by Milei’s showing and thought it reflected concern about the potential for repeating the economic crises of past governments.
“Many people were willing to give the government another chance,” he said. “We’ll see how much time Argentine society gives the Argentine government. But the triumph is unobjectionable, unquestionable.”
Cordoba said Milei’s government appeared to have secured one-third of the seats it needs in the Chamber of Deputies to prevent any future presidential vetoes from being overturned by Congress.
In the last few months, the opposition had overturned several Milei vetoes of spending bills he had said threatened the country’s fiscal balance.
Marcelo Garcia, Americas director of risk consultancy Horizon Engage, said: “The result is better than even the most optimistic Milei supporters were hoping for.”
“With this result, Milei will be able to easily defend his decrees and vetoes in Congress,” Garcia said, adding that allies will have more of an incentive to support a winning president.
‘Monday is just another day’
Ahead of the election, several Milei voters had spoken to Agence France-Presse about their disappointment with his leadership, particularly the corruption scandals allegedly involving members of his inner circle.
But they remained opposed to the Peronist movement, whose figurehead, former president Cristina Kirchner, is under house arrest after being convicted of corruption.
At 67.9 per cent, turnout was the lowest in a national election in four decades, reflecting disillusionment with the entire political class.
The most surprising results were in Buenos Aires province, a Peronist stronghold, where LLA clawed its way back from a defeat by the Peronists in last month’s local elections to a toss-up.
Adriana Cotoneo, a 69-year-old pensioner voting in Buenos Aires, told AFP she backed Milei’s party “not because I believe it’s the best option, but because I’m clear about who I want to be gone”.
Former TV pundit Milei, 55, has cut tens of thousands of public sector jobs, frozen public works, cut spending on health, education and pensions and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023.
His reforms were blamed for initially plunging millions of Argentinians deeper into poverty. They did, however, slow inflation by two-thirds — to the relief of many — although at the expense of faltering economic growth, consumption and manufacturing.
Foreign investors have been impressed by the government’s ability to significantly reduce monthly inflation from 12.8 per cent before Milei’s inauguration to 2.1 per cent last month, while achieving a fiscal surplus and enacting sweeping deregulation measures.
But investors started dumping peso last month amid concerns over the economy and support for Milei, which is when Trump stepped in to shore up his closest Latin American ally.
Javier Milei’s reforms helped slow inflation in Argentina by two-thirds. Source: AFP / Juan Mabromata
The US treasury has intervened several times in the market in recent weeks, buying up pesos to help keep it afloat.
Ahead of the election, expectations were high that the government could depreciate or devalue the peso, widely seen as too strong, immediately after the vote.
But, when questioned about the possibility, economy minister Luis Caputo said: “No.”
“Monday is just another day, nothing changes to the economic program or the band system,” he said, referring to the peso-dollar exchange rate band set by the government in April.
