Argentines voted this Sunday in legislative elections that will test support for President Javier Milei’s free-market reforms and deep austerity measures and determine whether he has the support to continue his economic reform.
The president’s party, La Libertad Avanza, aims to significantly increase its small minority in Congress to boost investor confidence in Milei’s vision and maintain the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently gave Argentina a hefty financial bailout but has threatened to step aside if Milei does not perform well.
“Don’t give up because we are halfway there,” Milei told supporters at a campaign closing event in the port city of Rosario on Thursday. “We’re on the right track.”
In Argentina, half of the Chamber of Deputies, or 127 seats, and a third of the Senate, or 24 seats, are up for grabs. The Peronist opposition movement holds the largest minority in both houses, while Milei’s relatively new party has only 37 deputies and six senators.
The election results are expected to be announced starting at 9pm (Brasilia time).
Milei voted this Sunday morning in the green, middle-class neighborhood of Almagro, in Buenos Aires, and greeted the public, but made no statement. At polling stations in the city, some residents told Reuters they wanted to continue supporting the president’s reform.
“Milei is risking everything for profound change and needs support because it is not an easy task after years of populism,” Cecilia Juarez, a 22-year-old university student, said before voting, referring to the Peronist governments that have dominated much of Argentine politics for the past 50 years.
More pessimistic is Silvio Caballero, 54 years old, university professor.
“Economic growth is very slow, I don’t know when we can become a first world country,” Caballero said. He didn’t say who he was voting for.
The White House and foreign investors have been impressed by the Argentine government’s ability to significantly reduce monthly inflation – from 12.8% before Milei took office to 2.1% last month -, achieve a fiscal surplus and pass broad deregulation measures.
But Milei’s popularity has declined in recent months due to public frustration over public spending cuts and a corruption scandal linked to his sister, who is also chief of staff.
“Milei’s adaptation was done with betrayal and cruelty,” Axel Kicillof, governor of Buenos Aires province, said Thursday during a campaign closing event for the Peronist opposition coalition. “They enjoy every victim of the cuts.”
Political experts say that more than 35% of the vote would be a positive outcome for Milei’s government and could allow it, through alliances with other parties, to block opposition lawmakers’ efforts to override their vetoes against laws that Milei says threaten Argentina’s fiscal balance.
Maria Laura Tagina, a political scientist at the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, said the Peronist movement will have to fight harder than Milei’s party to achieve “good elections” because there are many more seats up for grabs.
Milei said he expected a change of government after the election that could include members of the centrist PRO party, a frequent ally of the government in Congress, led by former President Mauricio Macri. Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein resigned on Monday.
The elections will be closely followed by the White House. Trump’s possible $40 billion Argentina bailout includes a $20 billion signature currency swap and a possible $20 billion debt investment facility.
Following the results, many analysts expect a devaluation of the peso, which they say was overvalued to contain inflation. If Milei’s party underperforms, this could lead to a sharper adjustment in exchange rate policy.
Source: Terra
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