Buenos Aires Election: Milei’s Libertarian Party Suffers Major Setback
In a stunning turn of events, Argentinian President Javier Milei faced a crushing defeat in a crucial Buenos Aires provincial election on Sunday, serving as a litmus test for the upcoming legislative elections next month for his libertarian party.
The newly-formed La Libertad Avanza party, led by the former TV pundit, managed to secure only 34% of the vote in Argentina’s largest province, conceding a landslide victory to the left-leaning Peronist opposition headed by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who clinched 47% of the vote with the majority of ballots counted by late Sunday.
Milei, acknowledging the clear defeat of his party by a 13-point margin, stated, “If anyone wants to begin rebuilding and moving forward, the first thing they must do is accept the results,” addressing his supporters at the party headquarters.
Despite the setback, Milei pledged to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms post-defeat. The 54-year-old president has been at the forefront of a significant deregulation campaign since assuming office in December 2023, slashing public spending and laying off tens of thousands of public employees.
To realize his radical libertarian vision for Argentina’s embattled economy, Milei needs to bolster his party’s meager presence in the opposition-dominated Congress during the upcoming midterms next month.
With the Peronists now holding the majority in Argentina’s congress, they have been able to pass social spending measures that impede Milei’s efforts to stabilize the country’s budget.
Amidst the election results, Kirchner, a prominent Peronist figure despite facing a corruption conviction that has barred her from active politics, jubilantly waved from her home’s balcony in the capital.
Fernández took to social media to taunt Milei, predicting that the bribery scandal involving the president’s sister would prove “lethal” to his electoral prospects.
While Milei can tout the reduction of Argentina’s triple-digit inflation in recent months, the promised economic revival following his stringent austerity measures has yet to materialize for the population.
“While not the main national election in October, it is nonetheless a wake-up call for the government, and how it reacts will be crucial to understanding the evolving political map,” remarked Juan Cruz Díaz, the head of Cefeidas Group, a consultancy in Buenos Aires.
“This result is a key data point to understand the social mood — where the opposition stands, the state of Peronism and the level of support for the government in Argentina’s most important electoral district,” he added.
The election outcome also shed light on Fernández’s former protege, Axel Kicillof, the left-wing governor of Buenos Aires province and one of Milei’s staunchest critics, positioning him as a potential future leader within the Peronist party.
In a spirited address late Sunday, Kicillof rebuked Milei and highlighted the consequences of forsaking Peronist populism for Milei’s harsh spending cuts, emphasizing the importance of public works and support for vulnerable groups.
“The ballot boxes told Milei that public works cannot be halted. They explained to him that retirees cannot be beaten, that people with disabilities cannot be abandoned,” he proclaimed to cheering supporters. — Euronews
