The Argentine people voted on Oct. 26 in midterm parliamentary elections that will determine whether populist President Javier Milea’s liberal economic policies retain popular support, a Reuters report said.
The election is crucial for the Milestone party La Libertad Avanza, which is trying to strengthen its minority presence in Argentina’s Congress amid the president’s free-market reforms and deep austerity measures, he added.
Both Milei and La Libertad Avanza are trying to consolidate their seats in Congress to increase investor confidence in its measures. United States President Donald Trump, in particular, has been a vocal supporter and has provided Argentina with a substantial $40 billion aid package, conditional on Milei winning the polls.
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“On the right track, don’t give up,” Milei urges voters
“Don’t give up because we are halfway there,” Milei told supporters at the final campaign event in the port city of Rosario on Thursday. “We’re on the right track.”
Half of the lower Argentine Chamber of Deputies, i.e. 127 seats, and also a third of the Senate, i.e. 24 seats, are up for election in the middle of the electoral period. The Peronist opposition movement has the largest minority in both chambers, while the relatively new Milea party has only 37 MPs and six senators.
The election results are expected to be available at 8:00 PM ET (0000 GMT) or 5:30 AM IST.
Milei voted in the leafy, middle-class Almagro district of Buenos Aires on Sunday morning and waved to the public but did not issue a statement. At polling centers across the city, some residents told Reuters they wanted to continue to support the president’s overhaul.
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Argentina Elections: What Are Voters Saying?
“Milei is risking it all for deep change and needs support because it’s not an easy task after years of populism,” 22-year-old university student Cecilia Juarez said before the vote, referring to the Peronist governments that have dominated much of Argentina’s politics for the past 50 years.
Silvio Caballero, 54, a university professor, was more pessimistic.
“Economic growth is very slow, I don’t know when we will be able to be a first world country,” Caballero said. He did not say who he voted for.
The White House and foreign investors have been impressed by the government’s ability to significantly reduce monthly inflation — from 12.8% before Milea’s inauguration to 2.1% last month — to run a fiscal surplus and enact sweeping deregulation measures.
But Milei’s popularity has fallen in recent months amid public frustration over his cuts in public spending and a corruption scandal involving his sister, who also serves as his chief of staff.
“The adjustment of Milea was carried out with treachery and cruelty,” Axel Kicillof, the governor of Buenos Aires province, said Thursday during a closing event for the Peronist opposition coalition. “They will enjoy every cut victim.
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Here’s what experts and analysts are predicting…
Political experts say more than 35% of the vote would be a positive result for Miley’s government and could allow him, through alliances with other parties, to block efforts by opposition lawmakers to overturn his vetoes of laws Milei said threaten Argentina’s fiscal balance.
Maria Laura Tagina, a political scientist at the Universidad Nacional de San Martin, said the Peronist movement will have to fight harder than Mileio’s party to achieve “good elections” because many more of his seats are up for grabs.
Milei said he expected a cabinet shakeup after the election, which could include members of the centrist PRO party, a frequent ally of the congressional government led by former president Mauricio Macri. Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein resigned on Monday.
The White House will be watching the election closely. Trump’s potential $40 billion bailout of Argentina includes a signed $20 billion currency swap and a possible $20 billion debt investment.
Based on the results, many analysts predict a devaluation of the peso, which they say has been overvalued to prevent inflation. If Milei’s side underperforms, this may lead to a sharper adjustment of foreign exchange policy.
(With inputs from Reuters)
