The midterm elections against the backdrop of a tense economic and political situation were seen as the first test of sentiment for Milei’s radical austerity policies since he took office almost two years ago. In Sunday’s election, half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the seats in the Senate were filled. According to the electoral authority, the LLA won 40.7 percent of the vote, while the opposition center-left party Fuerza Patria had to settle for 31.7 percent.
“Today we have reached a turning point. Today the building of a great Argentina begins,” Milei said to cheering supporters in Buenos Aires after the results were announced. He promised to continue the course he had initiated of state dismantling and deregulation of the economy with, in his words, “the most reform-minded Congress in Argentina’s history.”
According to Milei, the LLA has more than tripled its number of seats in both houses of parliament. Milei’s party was previously in the minority in both chambers and hoped to stabilize its government by gaining a few seats. Voter turnout was the lowest in four decades at 67.9 percent of eligible voters. This reflects the dissatisfaction of many voters with the political situation in the country.
For Milei, the election marks a turning point: Since his victory in the 2023 presidential election, the 55-year-old has been pursuing a radical austerity course. However, many of his projects failed due to the opposition in parliament. His LLA party suffered a bitter defeat in the provincial elections in the capital region of Buenos Aires in September.
US President Trump had made his country’s continued massive support of up to 40 billion dollars (34.4 billion euros) for the financially troubled Argentina dependent on a positive outcome for Milei in the midterm elections. After the LLA’s election victory, Trump expressed relief. “This was a great victory in Argentina,” he said aboard his presidential plane, Air Force One. “I supported him, (a) very strong support.” Milei is doing “excellent work,” wrote the US President in his online service Truth Social. “Our trust in him has been confirmed by the Argentine people.”
The heavily indebted South American country, which went bankrupt in 2001 as a result of a financial crisis and plunged into a deep social and economic crisis, was under considerable pressure from the financial markets before the election. After Milei’s party lost the provincial election in September, the peso fell sharply.
Like Trump, the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” Milei has made massive cuts to government agencies and the state apparatus and cut subsidies. In doing so, he ensured the first budget surplus in Argentina in 14 years, and inflation fell significantly. The downside of austerity measures includes a decline in economic output, job losses and cuts in pensions.
The governor of Buenos Aires province and Milei’s political opponent, Axel Kicillof, said it was now necessary to “double efforts to take care of the people.” Six out of ten Argentines do not agree with the model proposed by Milei, Kicillof wrote on the online service X. Therefore, “Milei is wrong when he celebrates this election result.”
