Legislative elections in Argentina determine the future of the liberal president news

Argentines began voting on Sunday in legislative elections that will determine the future of liberal President Javier Milli’s program to reform the fragile economy and free it from regulatory rules during the remaining two years of his term.

The midterm elections are the first test at the national level for the 55-year-old “anarcho-capitalist” president, whose victory in the 2023 presidential elections shook the Argentine political scene.

The elections gained global resonance, thanks to huge aid exceeding $40 billion pledged by US President Donald Trump to his ideological ally in South America.

But this aid is conditional, according to Trump, who stressed that Washington “will not be so generous” if Milley loses.

Polling stations opened their doors at eight in the morning, and the preliminary results are expected to be known around nine in the evening (midnight GMT on Monday).

Javier Mele has promised his compatriots in recent months that “the hardest part is over,” realizing that the majority of Argentines have been affected by privatizations more than they have benefited from general economic stability.

The elections renew half of the seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate, in which no party has an absolute majority.

Surveys and aspirations

According to opinion polls, Milli’s small party, La Libertad Avanza, is almost certain to increase its number of seats (15% of representatives, and 10% of senators currently), despite the intense competition with the Peronist (centre-left) opposition.

Milley set the criterion for victory by winning at least a third of the seats, a number that gives him the ability to impose his conditions.

The Argentine president is counting on convincing voters of the results he achieved in terms of inflation, which fell from more than 200% to 31.8% on an annual basis, and budget stability that the country has not witnessed in 14 years.

But the changes he made also led to the loss of more than 200,000 jobs, slowed the activity of the economy, which contracted by 1.8% in 2024, and exacerbated social inequalities more than ever before.

Milley’s popularity has declined in the past few months due to frustration over public spending cuts and a corruption scandal linked to his sister, who is also the head of the presidential staff.