The Liberty Advances Party of Argentina, led by President Javier Milei, secured a decisive and unexpected victory in the country’s midterm elections on Sunday, granting the libertarian president a mandate to continue his dismantling of two decades of socialist policies.
Liberty Advances obtained nearly 41 percent of the vote for seats in Argentina’s House of Representatives, compared to 31.7 percent of the vote going to a coalition of leftist parties campaigning against Milei’s conservative restructuring of the government. Liberty Advances won 64 new seats and now holds 93 seats on its own in the House, compared to 97 seats in the hands of Fuerza Patria, the left-wing coalition — which lost four seats.
The numbers represent a victory for the Milei party in 16 of the nation’s 23 provinces and Buenos Aires federal district. In the nation’s capital – where Milei’s party lost a local election decisively in September — legislative candidate Diego Santilli narrowly defeated the leftist candidate by slightly over one percent of the vote. Liberty Advances lost the September election by 14 points. Santilli’s victory was unexpected and notable as he jumped into the race late; former Liberty Advances candidate José Luis Espert, who vacated the congressional seat after being implicated in a money laundering scandal. The Argentine news outlet Infobae, citing unnamed sources within the party, credited Milei’s sister and top operative Karina Milei and consultant Santiago Caputo with pressuring Espert out of the race and thus securing the seat.
The elections for seats in the Senate similarly awarded the libertarian party, which won six of the eight seats up for grabs. Liberty Advances is now the largest party in the Senate, holding 20 seats. The left-wing coalition is holding 28 seats in the Senate, but as a collective of multiple parties, which makes it a weaker assembly of lawmakers to confront the proposals from Milei’s supporters.
The victory represents both a vote of confidence for Milei, elected in 2023 as the world’s first successful libertarian third-party presidential candidate, and a rejection of the entrenched left-wing “peronist” political establishment, led by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Infobae reported that Fernández de Kirchner was the architect of the various political slates for the leftist coalition, the most powerful force on the Argentine left even after being sentenced to prison on corruption charges in June.
“Not even the most pessimistic [leftist] could imagine such a difference at the national level,” Infobae observed.
Milei, addressing supporters on Sunday night, described the victory as a decisive statement of popular support that would allow his party to shift away from the crisis mode in which it operated during his first two years in power towards active reconstruction of the Argentine economy.
“During the first two years, we dedicated ourselves to avoiding that Argentina fall down the cliff as we faced the worst initial conditions in the history of the country,” Milei asserted. “We have managed to get out of that and today Argentina is recognized around the world for what we have done during these two years.”
Milei told his audience that he and his party were “committed to making Argentina the freest country in the world — and we will fulfill our electoral contract with each and every Argentine who accompanied us. And with those who did not accompany us, also, because a great Argentina is for all.”
The president concluded extending an olive branch to members of political parties who did not join the Kirchner coalition but were also not allied with Liberty Advances.
“Outside of the un-adaptables of always, who think that the economy can be fixed with rain dances and only know how to stick branches in our spokes,” Milei said, “there are dozens of lawmakers and senators of other parties with which we can find basic agreements.”
The United States played a role in the midterm elections, as Milei visited Washington two weeks ago and received a warm reception from President Donald Trump. Milei was in town to conclude a currency swap deal to strengthen his economy, and Trump made clear he was agreeing to shore up the Argentine economy because he trusted Milei.
“The [midterm] election is coming up very soon, and it’s a very big election, watched by the world because he’s done an incredible job, but with that comes some pain, and they have some pain and now they’re coming out of it,” Trump said during his Oval Office meeting with Milei. “I think victory is very important, your poll numbers I heard are pretty good, but I think they will be better after this.”
“We love them. We will be there for them. They have a great leader, a very great leader,” Trump continued, later adding that, “our approvals are somewhat subject to who wins an election, because if a socialist, or in the case of New York, a communist wins, you feel a lot different making an investment.”
Should Milei’s party lose in the midterms, Trump warned, “we won’t be generous with Argentina.”
Trump celebrated the results of the Argentine election on Monday morning while traveling in Asia.
“BIG WIN in Argentina for Javier Milei, a wonderful Trump Endorsed Candidate! He’s making us all look good. Congratulations Javier!” Trump wrote on his website Truth Social.
Milei thanked Trump in his own social media message, calling the American president “a great friend to the Argentine Republic.”
“Our people want to live in freedom. Count on me to battle for Western civilization, which has managed to lift over 90 percent of the global population out of poverty,” Milei promised.
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