Argentina’s President Javier Milei managed to turn the midterm elections around, leading his party to a landslide nationwide win on Sunday, with national results giving him 40.84% of the vote against 24.50% for the opposition alliance Fuerza Patria.
With this result, Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), gained 64 Chamber of Deputies members and 13 new senators in the Congreso de la Nación (Argentina’s main legislative body).
Although this does not grant the government a majority in either chamber, it does mean that it will need to negotiate less with other parties to pass legislation seen as key by Milei’s people.
In total, Milei’s alliance, which includes former president Mauricio Macri’s party, Propuesta Republicana (PRO), will have 107 seats in the lower chamber of the 252 total, making it the first minority. This means it would need support from 22 independent deputies to gain a quorum and pass legislation.
In the upper chamber, Milei gained 13 seats and now holds one-third of the 72 senators, enough to support the presidential veto power.
Also, with nine seats going to the Center-Left Radical Civic Union party, which is still in opposition to the Peronist alliance of Fuerza Patria, Milei can have the majority needed to pass legislation.
“Starting December 10, we will undoubtedly have the most reformist Congress in Argentina’s history,” Milei said once the first results came in. “The new Congress will be key to ensuring a change of direction in Argentina,” he said during his victory speech at the LLA’s headquarters.
This overturns the results of the Buenos Aires regional elections held back in September, where the opposition led with 49% against 30% for the LLA. In this October election, Milei managed to get 41% against 40% for Fuerza Patria.
Prior to the election, the former national deputy and current Public Affairs Minister of Buenos Aires City, Waldo Wolff, told The Jerusalem Post that he expects both the government and the opposition to see victories after the elections.
“Both the LLA and Fuerza Patria will be able to communicate the results in whatever way suits them best – the LLA because it will have more congresspeople, and the opposition because 69 days ago it was in a terminal coma and now it’s finding some air,” he said.
Buenos Aires Gov. Axel Kicillof, one of the leading figures of the opposition, said in his speech after the results came in that “Milei is mistaken if he celebrates this electoral result, where six out of 10 Argentines have said they do not agree with the model he proposes.”
On the flip side, Sabrina Ajmechet, recently elected deputy for Buenos Aires City from the pro-LLA alliance, told The Post that the results were favorable because “there are now more people in government who support Milei’s ideas of freedom and progress.”
“It’s time for Argentines to send a clear message to the world that we understand we are in the midst of a stabilization plan, which we know is difficult, but that the government’s direction is the right one,” she added.
Ajmechet also reiterated Milei’s words, comparing Argentina’s situation to the one Jewish people experienced in the desert, according to the Book of Exodus in the Torah.
“We’re crossing the desert, halfway there, and, understandably, doubts arise, and our legs ache. But the result is reaching the promised land of achieving a powerful Argentina, and that’s where we must aim as a society,” Ajmechet said.
Further, she compared Argentina’s situation to what Israel faced in the 1980s: “Israel has been through it and knows it’s anything but easy. It’s hard and painful, but the reward is immense. Nothing more and nothing less than pulling the country out of decline and poverty and once again becoming a beacon of progress.”
The elections also drew worldwide attention, with US President Donald Trump saying that the $40 billion package sent to Milei’s government ($20b. in a dollar-peso swap and another $20b. in debt) was “Milei’s last chance.”
“If he loses, we are out,” Trump had said.
He later posted a congratulatory message to Milei on Truth Social for his victory. “He is doing a wonderful job! The People of Argentina justified our confidence in him.”
Antisemitism a major factor in the election
Antisemitism was one of the main factors in this election, with Milei’s steadfast support for Israel being acclaimed by the Jewish community in a time when most governments seem to be focused on antagonizing the Jewish state.
“Argentina has positioned itself in the world with two main strategic allies: The United States and Israel. The three share a defense of democracy, freedom, and the Western way of life, as well as economic, military, and technological exchange agreements,” Ajmechet said.
“The results of this midterm election will not affect the commitment Argentina has shown for Israel this far, but they are undoubtedly extremely important,” she continued.
According to Ajmechet, “Argentina’s relationship with Israel today is a political decision by President Milei to stand on the side of the world’s democracies, understanding that the fight Israel has been waging since October 7 against the Hamas terrorist organization is a fight for a way of life it wants to take away from us.”
“Israel is only the first line of battle today defending the Western way of life,” she said.
Both Ajmechet and Wolff are Jewish. Moreover, each is a prominent figure in the fight against antisemitism in Argentina.
Ajmechet, who founded Argentina’s Forum Against Antisemitism, noted that even if the Jewish community in the country has suffered from the rise of antisemitism since Hamas’s October 7 massacre, this is not as extreme as it is elsewhere.
“There are currently cases of antisemitism in Argentina, but they are in no way comparable to what is happening on university campuses in the United States or the fears Jews have in Europe. But there are still cases that concern us,” she said.
Ajmechet also described the last case that arrived in her office: “Michelle was in her backyard, playing with her eight-month-old baby, when she heard a neighbor shout from a few feet above her: ‘Jew, Jew, Jew. And now you have a Jewish child. How disgusting.’ Then, the neighbor threw a piece of metal at the baby, but by a mere miracle, it didn’t hit her.”
“We can’t accept that in the 21st century, in the year 2025, there are people who seek to murder others simply because they are Jewish,” the deputy for Buenos Aires City said.
“That same weekend, I approached Michelle, along with [Argentina’s] National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. With her support and that of Milei’s, we managed to force the neighbor to leave his apartment and not be allowed to go near this family again,” Ajmechet said.
She added, “Antisemitism exists in Argentina; it’s real and must be fought. But I am deeply convinced that today, Argentina is one of the best countries for Jews to live in, because we have a government that supports us, cares for us, and ensures that cases like these have no place in our society.”
Wolff conveyed similar sentiments regarding Jew-hate in Argentina. “This is not an antisemitic country. There are antisemites and, after October 7, many of them have come out, but they remain a minority.”
“This turns the country into one of the greatest examples of interreligious coexistence.”