Defying pessimistic poll predictions, Argentine President Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party brought in nearly 41% of the national vote, winning about half of the seats up for grabs.
These wins triple Milei’s parliamentary base, though he still lacks a majority.
If Milei’s alliances with Republican Proposal and Radical Civic Union hold, Milei will have the one-third threshold he needs to veto opposition bills, The French newspaper, Le Monde, reported.
Milei, a libertarian who has described the state as a “criminal organization” that “lives by stealing from honest people,” has consistently run up against opposition from Argentinian lawmakers opposed to his free-market reforms since he was first elected in 2023.
Many of his efforts, including attempts to privatize state-owned companies, have been blocked.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that “Argentina’s dollar-denominated government bonds surged,“ following the election, ”bolstering Milei’s ability to implement the free-market reforms."
U.S.-listed Argentine stocks also increased in premarket trading.
Milei wrote on X, “Argentina is once again proving what I’ve been saying for a long time: the libertarian cultural revolution is profound and here to stay. People no longer want socialism, statism, and egalitarianism, disguised as social justice. They want Freedom, which is the only way to achieve prosperity.”
Milei’s policies boosting Argentina’s economy
At the end of 2023, Argentina’s annual inflation rate was 211%. Two years into his presidency, the country’s annual inflation rate has dropped to 31.8%, and it’s monthly rate sits at 2.1%.
As of last October, Milei had closed 13 federal departments and fired at least 10% of the federal workforce, El País reported.
He’d also cut remaining department’s funding significantly: infrastructure shrunk by 74%, education by 52%, health care by 28%, social development by 60% and federal assistance to provinces by 68%.
The Cato Institute added, “The president took an economy from crisis to recovery much faster than most people expected: Growth returned in the second half of 2024, wages have increased and the poverty rate, after having initially risen, has fallen below the 40 percent range that the previous government left as part of its legacy.”
President Donald Trump, congratulated the La Libertad Avanza party on Truth Social, early Monday morning.
“BIG WIN in Argentina for Javier Milei, a wonderful Trump Endorsed Candidate! He’s making us all look good. Congratulations Javier!” he wrote.