Bueno Aries [Argentine], October 28: Argentinian ultra-liberal President Javier Milei on Sunday achieved a surprise victory in midterm elections despite a series of corruption scandals and a continuing weak economy, which he has been trying to get back on track with drastic cuts and reforms.
Milei's La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances) party won about 40% of the vote, according to the electoral office, after almost all votes had been counted. The left-wing opposition received just under 32%.
Voter turnout was around 68%, despite voting being mandatory in Argentina.
"Today is a historic day. The Argentinian people are leaving decline behind and choosing progress," Milei told supporters.
"Today marks the beginning of building a great Argentina." He announced plans to press ahead with his reform agenda and urged provincial governors to cooperate.
The vote, in which half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of those in the Senate were up for grabs, was also seen as a test of public opinion halfway through Milei's presidency, who took the helm in Buenos Aires in 2023.
With his tough austerity course, Milei has succeeded in balancing the budget and reducing inflation.
However, the economy is not really picking up. Many people have lost their jobs and investors are reluctant to put money into Argentina on a large scale due to the uncertain situation. Meanwhile, the inflation rate is still over 30%.
Milei so far has not had a majority in either chamber. He has largely governed by decree and his legislative initiatives have often been stopped in Congress. As a result, Milei's ambitious reform agenda has stalled.
With Sunday's result, Milei and his allies in Congress are poised to hold at least a third of the seats, giving them the quorum needed to defend his presidential veto against parliamentary decisions.
He is also likely to see the result as a mandate to push forward with deregulation measures. Sunday's outcome is also expected to reassure Milei's allies in Washington.
The administration of US President Donald Trump recently provided Argentina with a $20 billion currency swap to boost liquidity and the Treasury made large-scale peso purchases to support the exchange rate.
Trump recently made his aid for Argentina dependent on Milei's victory in the midterm elections. "And if he doesn't win, we're not going to waste our time, because you have somebody whose philosophy has no chance of making Argentina great again," the US president said during Milei's visit to the White House earlier this month.
Source: Qatar Tribune