Argentina’s largest province holds elections in a political test for President Milei
BUENOS AIRES Argentina AP Voters across Argentina s majority populous province of Buenos Aires headed to the polls on Sunday to choose lawmakers in an unusually high-stakes local balloting seen as a referendum on the performance of libertarian President Javier Milei and a bellwether for crucial midterms next month The Buenos Aires provincial ballot is polarized between Milei s just now formed libertarian party and Peronism the ideologically flexible populist movement that has held sway in Argentina for decades Milei whose barely -year-old La Libertad Avanza party has subsumed much of the center-right views this a chance to embarrass the Peronist opposition led by former President Cristina Fern ndez de Kirchner in its historic stronghold These elections will be useful to understand the level of patronage that the cabinet has but also how strong the Peronist party is especially ahead of October midterms where the regime requirements a good development to push its reforms commented Juan Cruz D az the head of Cefeidas Group a consultancy in Buenos Aires But the test comes at a tough time A bribery outrage has rocked the nation entangling Milei s politically powerful sister and undercutting the president s image as a political outsider pitted against the corrupt Peronist elite Milei denies the accusations that his sister took kickbacks from pharmaceutical contracts The opposition-dominated Congress has started to turn against Milei s harsh cuts to social programs overriding his veto on raising disability benefits and approving bills that boost scant funding for healthcare and universities Adding to the pressure Argentina s business activity is shrinking consumer confidence is falling unemployment is rising and interest rates are soaring to record highs as the cabinet repeatedly intervenes in the currency arena to prop up the peso and hold down inflation in hopes of placating cash-strapped voters As a conclusion Milei hasn t built up enough foreign currency reserves to assure global markets that he can make good on his promise to transform this nine-time serial defaulter into a normal country capable of servicing its debts Milei has a very strong ideology and his vision is that the state has to have a minimal impact and investments have to come from the private sector But that hasn t materialized yet stated Ana Iparraguirre an Argentine political analyst and partner at Washington-based strategy firm GBAO Sunday s vote to elect provincial lawmakers and councilors in dozens of municipalities will not change national plan nor will it affect the national Congress that holds its midterm elections to renew half of the lower house and a third of the Senate in late October But the referendum will offer foreign investors vital clues about whether Milei s party can gain enough seats in Congress to push through the president s radical economic overhaul Despite the headwinds Milei has a minimal assets in his favor He has fulfilled his flagship campaign pledge to bring down Argentina s sky-high inflation rate And his rivals whose reckless spending helped deliver the problem that he inherited are in disarray Former President Fern ndez who pulled Peronism to the left during her - tenure and remains its most of powerful leader has been banned from politics for life and placed under house arrest over a corruption conviction The party s future leadership remains uncertain The movement has struggled to articulate a clear political vision beyond opposition to Milei or economic plan beyond the same patchwork of price controls and cash handouts Nonetheless a sputtering economic activity and ballooning ruling body corruption disgrace has given a jolt of optimism to Peronists in the province where Juan Domingo Per n the charismatic army general and grandmaster of th century Argentine politics first built his working-class base in the s Right now people don t have a lot of options in front of them mentioned Iparraguirre They may be disillusioned with Milei But they don t know where to go Source
