Argentina’s firebrand right-wing President Javier Milei has largely tamed runaway inflation with a ruthless austerity plan and he aims to solidify power when his party and its allies take on a divided opposition in legislative elections in October. The trash-tweeting economist, who famously handed tech billionaire Elon Musk a chainsaw at an event in Washington earlier this year, has overseen a steady dollar-peso peg but relies on legislative allies in Congress to pass his agenda. Many of the changes he has implemented have been through presidential decrees, like his ideological ally, US President Donald Trump, who called Milei his favourite president.
Voters will choose about half the seats in the lower chamber of Argentina’s Congress and a third of the upper Senate on October 26. A big victory would not give Milei a legislative majority, but it would offer him leverage to make deals to sell off government-owned companies, cut social spending, change tax and labour policy and embrace social conservatism.
That plan is in stark contrast to the programme of the parties that are the ideological descendants of General Juan Peron, who ruled the country from 1946-1955 and 1973-1974, and his wife Evita. Their governments nationalised industries, unveiled pro-labour policies and rolled out social programmes including free healthcare.
The economic stability spurred by Milei, who took power in late 2023 and quickly slashed spending as part of a shock therapy programme to pull the South American country out of a deep crisis, has not translated into across-the-board improvements. Prices of basic goods like jeans and tennis shoes are reportedly double what they are in other parts of the Americas.
Pensioners continue to protest the cost of living, and anger over the relatively poor salaries of healthcare workers at a respected paediatric hospital has turned into a months-long saga. Nearly 40% of Argentines remain in poverty, and many of them reject Milei’s policies.
“I’m not a Peronist, but I’ll vote for them because I’d vote for anyone before Milei,” said Jorge, a 42-year-old “cartonero” who collects cardboard for recycling, an extremely poor living. The man, who declined to give his last name, said one of his four children was treated at the paediatric hospital where staff are protesting. Posing another threat to Milei’s popularity is the possibility that he may in coming months have to further tighten economic policy to meet the terms of a $20 billion International Monetary Fund loan that has boosted Argentina’s reputation among investors, whose dollars the country desperately needs.
‘Rupture is inevitable’
Up for grabs in the election is the vast province surrounding the capital, Buenos Aires, which is the geographic heart of Peronism and home to 40% of the country’s voters. A government source told reporters Milei has vowed to defeat Peronist Governor Axel Kicillof there.
Milei’s candidate unexpectedly placed first in a recent Buenos Aires local election, and consulting firm Observatorio Electoral shows Milei’s Libertad Avanza party with a slim 37%-36% advantage over the centre-left Peronists. Nationally, 42% of voters favour Milei against 23% for the Peronists. Beating the standard-bearers of Juan Peron’s legacy would have seemed impossible a few years ago, but with inflation down to a projected 30% this year, from 118% last year, and Milei credited with cutting corruption, some voters are ready to give the political firebrand more power.
“I’ll vote for Milei again because he’s achieved a degree of normality in the economy,” said Federico Segovia, a 22-year-old university student who blamed the last Peronist president, Alberto Fernandez, for leaving the economy in disastrous shape. A recent survey by the consulting firm Synopsis found that the share of those who viewed Milei positively rose to 43.4% in May from 40.9% in April. — Reuters