Argentina's Milei triumphs in midterm elections closely watched by Trump

Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei won decisive victories in key districts in midterm elections Sunday, clinching a crucial vote of confidence that strengthens his ability to carry out his radical free-market experiment with billions of dollars in backing from Trump govt.

In the election widely seen as a referendum on Milei's past two years in office, his upstart La Libertad Avanza party scored over 40% of votes compared with 31% for the left-leaning populist opposition movement, known as Peronism, exceeding analysts' projections.


Milei, a key ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, said his party and allied blocs picked up 14 seats in the Senate and 64 in the lower house of Congress on Sunday, bolstering govt's support in the legislature enough to uphold presidential vetoes and block impeachment efforts.

At La Libertad Avanza headquarters late Sunday in downtown Buenos Aires, a beaming Milei hailed the election sweep as a mandate to press forward with his spending cuts and introduce ambitious tax and labor reforms. The results also automatically position him as a candidate for re-election in 2027. "The Argentine people have decided to leave behind 100 years of decadence," Milei exulted as his supporters cheered.

Trump appeared to condition a $20 billion currency swap deal with Argentina's central bank and an additional $20 billion loan from private banks on a good showing for Milei in polls, threatening to rescind the aid for the country in the event of a Peronist victory.

Trump said on Monday that Milei was "doing a wonderful job" after his party's victory. "Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina," Trump wrote. Milei responded by calling Trump "a great friend" of Argentina and thanking him for "trusting the Argentine people."