Image Credit: Andrew Harnik / Staff / Getty Images 
Argentine President Javier Milei has won a resounding victory in his country’s midterm elections, which were being hailed as a serious test of support for his “shock therapy” reforms and “chainsaw” economics.
Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party won 40.8% of the votes nationally for the lower house of Congress, and six of the eight provinces that voted to elect a third of the Senate.
The left-leaning opposition, the Peronists, won 31.7% of the vote.
Although Milei has not won a majority in Congress, the result will make it much harder for his opponents to derail his agenda.
Milei has put into action a huge libertarian program of cuts to regulations, spending, state policies and government departments, all of which are designed to rescue the stricken South American nation from decades of stagnation.
His approach has won the support of President Donald Trump, who has offered financial backing to Argentina to ensure the progress of the reforms, after the dramatic recent collapse of the peso.
At a White House meeting with Milei last week, Trump promised a $20 billion aid package—which could double—contingent on his victory in the midterms.
“If he doesn’t win, we’re gone,” Trump said.
“If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted the aid package would not be a “bailout,” but instead an “economic Monroe Doctrine.” The Monroe Doctrine was a 19th century policy to ensure US supremacy in the Western hemisphere.
Bessent said the US has an interest in Argentina succeeding, not only because it will stabilize the country, but also because it will provide a “beacon” to other nations in the region.
“We do not want another failed or China-led state in Latin America,” Bessent said.
