Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei won Sunday’s midterm elections after a campaign where US President Donald Trump announced a $40 billion bailout for the country, which he made conditional on the victory of his Argentinian counterpart. With over 95% of ballots counted, Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, secured 40.84% of the nationwide vote.
Milei’s win is seen as surprising by many analysts, given his recent popularity woes due to corruption allegations involving his sister and an ongoing economic crisis. However, the government had downplayed expectations, considering a victory above 30% as satisfactory.
The election saw a low turnout of 67.85%, surpassing the previous record low set in 2021. Up for grabs were 127 seats in the lower house and a third of the senate, which Milei’s party secured 64 lower house seats and 12 in the senate.
Milei took office nearly two years ago with spending cuts that slashed public jobs and froze investment in infrastructure. He managed to bring down inflation from over 200% in 2023 to about 30%. However, economic activity declined after a series of setbacks, including a collapsed cryptocurrency promoted by Milei. The president’s sister was also implicated in an alleged corruption scheme.
Trump’s $40 billion bailout is seen as unprecedented and was welcomed by the president as “something unparalleled.” Trump congratulated Milei on his win, calling it a “landslide victory.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/27/javier-milei-president-far-right-party-wins-argentina-midterm-elections