Argentina's president Javier Milei has led his party to a landslide victory in Sunday's midterm elections, after defining the first two years of his presidency with radical spending cuts and free-market reforms.
His party, La Libertad Avanza, won nearly 41% of the vote, taking 13 of 24 Senate seats and 64 of the 127 lower-house seats that were contested.
His gains will make it much easier for the president to push ahead with his programme to slash state spending and deregulate the economy.
Before the vote, Milei's ally Donald Trump made it clear that the US's recently announced $40bn lifeline for Argentina would depend on Milei keeping political momentum. Milei's supporters welcomed that, though critics accused Donald Trump of foreign interference in Argentina's elections.
In a nod to his North American ally, Milei told cheering supporters: 'We must consolidate the path of reform we have embarked upon to turn Argentina's history around once and for all… to make Argentina great again.' Before these elections his party had just seven Senate seats and 37 seats in the lower house.
That meant his programme of spending cuts and reforms faced various political obstacles. His vetoes of bills to boost funding for state universities, people with disabilities and children's healthcare were overturned by opposition lawmakers. After Sunday's result, hundreds of his supporters gathered, cheering, outside a hotel in Buenos Aires where he was watching the result.
'Milei didn't have 15% of Congress in his favour. Now, with many more deputies and senators, he'll be able to change the country in a year,' one young voter Dionisio said.
'Our province was devastated by previous governments,' another voter Ezequiel said. 'Now, thank God, freedom has won. We want our daughter to grow up in this beautiful country. What happened in previous years is regrettable.'
These elections were the first national test of President Milei's popularity since he took office in 2023, pledging to shrink state spending by taking a metaphorical 'chainsaw' to it. He brandished a real one during his campaign rallies.
He's since cut budgets for education, pensions, health, infrastructure, and subsidies, and laid off tens of thousands of public sector workers. Supporters, including Trump, hail him for taming inflation - which hit triple figures annually before he took office - cutting the deficit, and restoring investor confidence.
His critics, though, argue the price has been job losses, a decline in manufacturing, crumbling public services, a fall in people's purchasing power and an imminent recession. This election result shows that many Argentines remain unwilling to return to the Peronist model Milei blames for decades of economic mismanagement.
His party, La Libertad Avanza, won nearly 41% of the vote, taking 13 of 24 Senate seats and 64 of the 127 lower-house seats that were contested.
His gains will make it much easier for the president to push ahead with his programme to slash state spending and deregulate the economy.
Before the vote, Milei's ally Donald Trump made it clear that the US's recently announced $40bn lifeline for Argentina would depend on Milei keeping political momentum. Milei's supporters welcomed that, though critics accused Donald Trump of foreign interference in Argentina's elections.
In a nod to his North American ally, Milei told cheering supporters: 'We must consolidate the path of reform we have embarked upon to turn Argentina's history around once and for all… to make Argentina great again.' Before these elections his party had just seven Senate seats and 37 seats in the lower house.
That meant his programme of spending cuts and reforms faced various political obstacles. His vetoes of bills to boost funding for state universities, people with disabilities and children's healthcare were overturned by opposition lawmakers. After Sunday's result, hundreds of his supporters gathered, cheering, outside a hotel in Buenos Aires where he was watching the result.
'Milei didn't have 15% of Congress in his favour. Now, with many more deputies and senators, he'll be able to change the country in a year,' one young voter Dionisio said.
'Our province was devastated by previous governments,' another voter Ezequiel said. 'Now, thank God, freedom has won. We want our daughter to grow up in this beautiful country. What happened in previous years is regrettable.'
These elections were the first national test of President Milei's popularity since he took office in 2023, pledging to shrink state spending by taking a metaphorical 'chainsaw' to it. He brandished a real one during his campaign rallies.
He's since cut budgets for education, pensions, health, infrastructure, and subsidies, and laid off tens of thousands of public sector workers. Supporters, including Trump, hail him for taming inflation - which hit triple figures annually before he took office - cutting the deficit, and restoring investor confidence.
His critics, though, argue the price has been job losses, a decline in manufacturing, crumbling public services, a fall in people's purchasing power and an imminent recession. This election result shows that many Argentines remain unwilling to return to the Peronist model Milei blames for decades of economic mismanagement.
