In a significant win for Argentina’s budget-cutting President Javier Milei, his party secured a resounding victory in Sunday’s legislative elections. This outcome was a critical test for his administration, with former President Trump explicitly linking U.S. financial support to his success.
This decisive win reinforces the mandate of Mr. Milei, a self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist. Despite recent financial and political turbulence and the harsh impact of his austerity measures, which have nonetheless dramatically reduced Argentina’s rampant inflation, his party garnered over 40 percent of the vote. This indicates a continued public endorsement for his bold libertarian approach.
Addressing his jubilant supporters on Sunday night, Milei declared, “Today we passed a turning point,” after dramatically taking the stage to perform a campaign song.
He added, “Today begins the building of a great Argentina.”
This electoral triumph grants President Milei sufficient congressional backing to withstand potential veto overrides, significantly empowering him to advance his ambitious reform agenda.
The outcome also represents a win for former President Trump, who had publicly supported Milei and indicated that a substantial $20 billion currency swap from the United States was dependent on a favorable result in these midterm elections.
“BIG WIN in Argentina for Javier Milei, a wonderful Trump Endorsed Candidate!” Trump exclaimed on social media. “He’s making us all look good.”
Milei is an ardent admirer of Mr. Trump and the MAGA movement. His political success is viewed by the Trump administration as a strategic opportunity to strengthen American influence in South America, directly challenging China’s expanding presence in the region.
Andrés Martínez-Fernández, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation specializing in Latin America, commented, “It was quite a resounding victory for common sense and pro-U.S. leadership, which Milei very much embodies.” He added that the results underscore “very clear benefits to countries that try to ally with the U.S. very proactively.”
While the full reaction from traditional financial markets won’t be evident until Monday morning, early indicators from 24/7 cryptocurrency markets showed the Argentine peso strengthening, suggesting a positive response from bond, stock, and currency traders.
Outside his party’s headquarters, jubilant Milei supporters celebrated, with the rock anthem “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC blaring in the background. Street vendors seized the moment, selling miniature figurines of President Milei famously wielding his characteristic chainsaw.
“There’s a huge bonanza coming for Argentina,” declared 42-year-old Facundo Manuel Campos. “More investments, credit… a normal country.”
Voter turnout was 68 percent, the lowest in any national election since the return of democracy in 1983. Voting in Argentina is mandatory, but fines for failing to cast a ballot are the equivalent of less than 50 cents.
Mr. Milei has won international praise for curbing inflation, which fell from 160 percent annually when he took office to about 30 percent this year. That has helped to reduce poverty, while Mr. Milei’s fiscal austerity has resulted in a budget surplus and appeased international lenders. In his first year in office, he enjoyed a relatively stable approval rating of about 50 percent.
But his deep spending cuts have also inflicted acute pain on parts of the population. They have coincided with corruption scandals embroiling Mr. Milei’s inner circle, eroding his poll ratings, which fell by about 10 points in recent months. After a scorching defeat for his party, La Libertad Avanza, or Liberty Advances, in provincial elections in Buenos Aires last month, the value of the peso collapsed, leading the Trump administration to offer its financial support.
“It was an unexpected result,” Roberto Nolazco, a political scientist at Argentina’s Catholic University, said of the vote on Sunday. “Even for the government.”
For Mr. Milei’s supporters, the assistance from the United States was a sign that Argentina was on the road to financial stability.
“Before 2023, my children were thinking of leaving the country,” said Virginia Giménez, 55, who was with her son outside the headquarters of Mr. Milei’s party. “But I’m happy to be here tonight, with my son by my side.”
Analysts said the results were due, in part, to a fragmented opposition, which included many of the same leaders repudiated by voters two years ago when they elected Mr. Milei, an outsider economist who rose to popularity by criticizing the political class.
“People gave him another vote of confidence despite the economic hardships, despite the corruption allegations,” said Mariel Fornoni, a political analyst who runs Management and Fit, a polling company. “And that largely has to do with what alternatives were available.”
Many voters leaving polling places in Buenos Aires on Sunday said they were willing to give Mr. Milei more time to implement his agenda. They said they wanted to move on from the high-spending Peronists, followers of the movement begun by the former president Juan Perón, who have presided over economic instability for most of Argentina’s recent history.
After casting his vote on Sunday, Francisco De Sousa Dias, 33, said he was not “a big fan” of Mr. Milei. “But these guys are worse,” he said of the Peronists. “Perhaps Milei is not the change we need, but it’s a change,” he said.
Though his party had only a small number of legislative seats in the first half of his term, Mr. Milei managed to get Congress to approve many of his proposals, at first. More recently, lawmakers have been pushing back, notably by overturning his vetoes of spending increases for universities and health care. Now that will no longer be possible.
Mr. Milei says he wants to overhaul labor laws and make contracts more flexible; deepen cuts to the federal government; ease regulations; cut taxes; and streamline bureaucratic procedures to encourage economic activity and boost employment and salaries. He also wants to make it easier to register new companies.
“We want to be a country that grows,” Mr. Milei said on Sunday night. “To make Argentina great again.”