Argentine President Javier Milei's party cruised to victory in midterm legislative elections as voters handed him a mandate to keep pushing through his radical overhaul of the economy despite widespread discontent with his deep austerity measures.
A relief to Milei, whose poll numbers had sagged in recent weeks, the results are also likely to please U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration had faced criticism after providing Argentina with a hefty financial bailout.
“Argentines showed that they don’t want to return to the model of failure,” said Milei, speaking triumphantly before a crowd of supporters at a hotel in Buenos Aires after the results.
The president's party, La Libertad Avanza, scored 41.5% of the vote in Buenos Aires province compared with 40.8% for the Peronist coalition, according to official results. The province has long been a political stronghold for the Peronists, marking a dramatic political shift.
Nationwide, La Libertad Avanza got 64 seats in the House of Deputies, up from 37, according to government figures.
Milei was aiming to boost his small minority in Congress and maintain the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration recently provided Argentina with a hefty financial bailout but has threatened to pull away if Milei did not do well.
Half of Argentina's lower Chamber of Deputies, or 127 seats, as well as a third of the Senate, or 24 seats, were up for election in the midterm vote. 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 White House and foreign investors have been impressed by the government's ability to significantly reduce monthly inflation, from 12.8% before Milei's inauguration to 2.1% last month, achieve a fiscal surplus, and enact sweeping deregulation measures.
But Milei's popularity had fallen in recent months due to public frustration with his cuts to public spending and a corruption scandal tied to his sister, who also serves as his chief of staff.
Political experts said that more than 35% of the vote would be a positive outcome for Milei's government and could allow him, through alliances with other parties, to block efforts by opposition lawmakers to overturn his vetoes against laws Milei has said threaten Argentina's fiscal balance.
Milei has said he expects a cabinet shake-up 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.
The election will be welcome news to the White House. Trump's potential $40 billion bailout of Argentina includes a signed $20 billion currency swap and a possible $20 billion debt investment facility.
Bonds and stocks are expected to rally on Monday as markets open, as the result gives Milei the votes and political capital needed to accelerate his reforms.
Following the results, many analysts predict a devaluation of the peso, which they say has been overvalued to contain inflation.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education, living costs and military service proposals. Violence erupted in Fra...
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's f...
Since 2021, only 9 per cent of $8 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan can be traced beyond initial recipients in public re...
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
A hacking group linked to North Korea is widely believed to be behind the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance, a cyberattack that experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education, living costs and military service proposals. Violence erupted in Frankfurt, where shops were looted and police reported Molotov cocktail attacks.
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, as a hostile group, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Thousands protested in Albania's capital, Tirana, on Saturday (31 October), demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation over perceived corruption allegations and dissatisfaction with the government over a lack of jobs and poor education standards.
Russia has agreed to work with Ghana on developing a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant following talks at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Saturday.
Foreign ministers from the U.S., Japan, Australia and India raised concerns over export restrictions and economic coercion at a Quad meeting in Atlanta, U.S., on Saturday, 31 October 2026, according to their joint statement.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment