Milei sweeps the legislative elections and reaffirms her political path mid-term.

Buenos Aires"Today has clearly been a historic day for Argentina. The Argentine people have decided to leave behind 100 years of decadence and persist on the path of freedom, progress, and growth." These were the words of President Javier Milei to his electorate upon learning the results of the legislative elections, which consolidate the presence of his party, La Libertad Avanza, in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, where Milei has been in the minority for nearly two years of his term. This Sunday, 36 million Argentines were called to vote to finalize the composition of the chambers, and to everyone's surprise—including Milei himself and his cabinet—the support was massive and the victory resounding: 40% of the votes went to the Violeta party, which will be able to improve its policies once again."

Libertad Avanza had 37 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and will now have 93. This represents more than a third of the total (257), just four seats below the Peronist Fuerza Patria party, but still without a majority (129). In the Upper House, the Libertarians have tripled their representation, going from 6 to 20 senators. Milei thus improves his governability and intends to push (or block) legislative initiatives more easily. This Monday, Milei announced that he will delay the reshuffle of his government, which he had announced before the elections when polls predicted a much closer result. The electoral setback he suffered in the Buenos Aires provincial elections just a month and a half ago suggested that these legislative elections would be adverse to him, but the surprising and overwhelming victory has led him to postpone the reshuffle of the government. "The new cabinet will be built in light of the new Congress. The important thing is to achieve the reforms," he said.

The government's priority now is to push through tax, pension, and labor reforms. Furthermore, the market is expected to begin showing signs of optimism starting Monday, particularly with the rise in the value of Argentine stocks and a stabilization of the dollar. Milei also once again reached out to provincial governors, who have been punished by cuts in public funding, but whom the president praised as "rational, pro-capitalist actors."

"Milei is putting order to all the waste that has been going on in Argentina in recent years," Jennifer, 25, who has come from the province of Buenos Aires to the party headquarters to support the president, tells ARA, "and this seems perfect to me." She defines herself as anti-Peronist and explains that her son is disabled due to cancer: "Currently, my son can be treated without any problems in a public hospital and receives disability benefits completely normally," she explains, referring to two specific citizen complaints that she experiences firsthand and with which, she assures, she has "no problem." Next to her, her friend shakes her head and explains that "the province of Buenos Aires is a disaster." "We're fed up: there are unpaved streets and a lack of sanitation systems, all because of Governor [Axel] Kicillof," she says. It is precisely in the province of Buenos Aires, the most populated in the country, where Milei has surprised, possibly even himself and his people: he has won – by less than one point – in a district that is a bastion of Peronism and where suffered an electoral setback in the provincial elections, not even two months ago.

Wide victory

Milei has won in 16 of Argentina's 24 electoral districts: "Today the entire country, from La Quiaca to Ushuaia, has confirmed its vocation to irreversibly change the destiny of the country," she said, and interpreted the result as "confirmation of the mandate" they are going to. Milei – who has a habit of insulting political rivals and even wishing for their disappearance – has used a conciliatory tone on this occasion: "Thank you to each and every one of the Argentines who have supported us, and to those who have not, too, because a greater Argentina is for everyone."

For its part, Peronism refused to acknowledge defeat. In a collective performance on a stage with various leaders—Governor Axel Kicillof; the candidate for the province of Buenos Aires, Jorge Taiana; and former Minister of Economy Sergio Massa, among others—members of the Fuerza Patria coalition maintained their momentum and warned Milei that "she is wrong to celebrate this result" and "if she ignores the situation the Argentine people are going through and where businesses have closed." Furthermore, Kicillof criticized the financial aid Milei requested from Donald Trump, who promised a $20 billion bailout for Argentina. For Peronism, this represents submission on Milei's part and an interventionist threat on Trump's part.

Peronism itself has positioned itself as the second-largest force nationwide, with 31% support. It remains the majority party in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, with the difference that La Libertad Avanza has now narrowed the gap considerably. Regarding turnout, these elections were the lowest since the return of democracy in 1983: 68% of voters turned out.