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Argentine President Javier Milei’s libertarian party has won a big victory in national midterm legislative elections, giving his free-market reform drive fresh impetus after a financial market crisis threatened to derail it.
Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party garnered 40.7 per cent against 31.7 per cent for the Peronist opposition alliance with 98 per cent of the vote counted, according to tallies using provisional figures from the electoral commission. Turnout in Sunday’s election was 68 per cent, compared with 71.8 per cent in the previous midterm election in 2021.
“Today is clearly a historic day for Argentina,” Milei told cheering supporters at his party headquarters in Buenos Aires. “The Argentine people decided to leave behind 100 years of decadence and to persist on the road of freedom, progress and growth.”
The result will bolster Milei’s position in congress and help him push ahead with his radical overhaul of Argentina’s long-troubled economy, which had faltered after a series of mis-steps by his government. Investor jitters about weakening support for Milei’s reforms triggered a run on the peso last month.
It is likely to please US President Donald Trump, Milei’s most important ally, who came to his rescue this month with a bailout package but suggested that continued backing depended on the election result.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has promised up to $40bn of support for Argentina and has so far spent roughly $2bn propping up the peso, according to economists’ estimates. Washington sees Milei as a vital bulwark of support in Latin America, where the Trump administration is trying to reduce Chinese influence.
About half of the 257 seats in Argentina’s lower house were up for re-election on Sunday. LLA won 64 of the 127 available, official results showed, performing strongly across the country. Polls before the vote were mixed, with some suggesting that the Peronists might beat Milei.
“Argentina has given Milei a very forceful endorsement, and he now has a big opportunity to deliver on his promises,” said Sergio Berensztein, an Argentine political consultant.
However, he noted that Milei “still needs to demonstrate flexibility, humility and the ability to make agreements with the opposition” to pass key labour and tax reforms, since LLA falls short of a majority in both houses of congress.
Projections based on official results suggest Milei and his allies will have more than 100 seats in the new lower house, but will need the support of smaller centrist parties to reach the 129 required to pass legislation. The picture in the senate, where one-third of seats were renewed, is broadly similar.
There was a jubilant mood at LLA’s election headquarters in central Buenos Aires, with supporters cheering and shouting as spotlights bathed the crowd in purple, the party’s colour. Milei, who used to perform in a Rolling Stones tribute band, bounced on to the stage singing “I am the king” before giving his victory speech.
The Peronists failed to repeat their success in Buenos Aires provincial elections last month, when they beat Milei’s party by a wide margin, triggering a run on the peso.
Hunkered down in the city of La Plata, their national leaders made no immediate comment on the election but Juan Grabois, a Peronist youth leader, blamed Trump for the defeat. He said the US president’s backing for the government had made it an unequal contest.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the two-time former Peronist president and party leader, appeared after the results on the balcony of the apartment where she is under house arrest for a corruption conviction. She waved and blew kisses to waiting supporters but did not speak.
Former president Mauricio Macri, who leads the centre-right PRO party that has been a key ally for Milei, suggested the president strengthen his cabinet after the election to improve governability, saying he was ready to help. “Milei has my number,” he quipped.
On the crypto-based currency exchanges where the Argentine peso trades 24 hours, the peso had strengthened over 9 per cent against the dollar, reversing its recent weakness.
Ramiro Blázquez Giomi, strategist at financial services company StoneX, expected the peso to strengthen sharply and give Milei “room to recalibrate” his exchange rate policy, which has worried investors as the central bank has drained its reserves to prop up the currency.
“The central bank will need to start accumulating reserves, but that can now happen more seamlessly and at a stronger exchange rate,” he added.
Additional reporting by William Sandlund in Hong Kong
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