Javier Millay and his “Chainsaw” for savings are winning big

Argentina’s President Javier Millay led his party to a landslide victory in Sunday’s midterm elections after defining the first two years of his presidency with sweeping spending cuts and free-market reforms.

His party, La Libertad Avanza, won almost 41% of the vote, taking 13 of the 24 seats in the Senate and 64 of the 127 seats in the lower house that were contested.

Its gains will make it much easier for the president to move forward with his agenda to cut government spending and deregulate the economy.

Before the vote, Miley’s ally Donald Trump it became clear that the recently announced US $40 billion lifeline for Argentina will depend on Millay maintaining political momentum.

Miley’s supporters welcomed this, even as critics accused Donald Trump of foreign interference in Argentina’s election.

In a nod to his North American ally, Millay told jubilant supporters: “We must consolidate the reform path we have taken to turn Argentina’s history once and for all … to make Argentina great again.”

Before this election, his party had only seven seats in the Senate and 37 seats in the lower house.

This meant that his program of spending cuts and reforms faced various political obstacles.

His vetoes of bills to increase funding for public universities, the disabled and children’s health were overridden by opposition lawmakers.

After Sunday’s result, hundreds of his supporters gathered, cheering, outside a Buenos Aires hotel where he watched the result.

“Milley did not have 15% of Congress in his favor. Now, with many more deputies and senators, he will be able to change the country in one year,” said one young voter Dionisio.

“Our province was devastated by previous governments,” said another voter, Ezekiel.

“Now, thank God, freedom has won. We want our daughter to grow up in this beautiful country. What happened in the previous years is unfortunate.”

This election was the first national test of President Millay’s popularity since he took office in 2023 promising to cut government spending by using a metaphorical “chainsaw.” He brandished a real one during his campaign rallies.

Since then, he has slashed budgets for education, pensions, health, infrastructure and subsidies, and laid off tens of thousands of public sector workers.

Supporters, including Trump, have hailed him for taming inflation — which reached triple digits annually before he took office — reducing the deficit and restoring investor confidence.

But its critics say the price is job losses, a decline in manufacturing, crumbling public services, a decline in people’s purchasing power and a looming recession.

Giuliana, who works with disabled children in the province of Tucuman, is concerned that legislation to increase funding for people with disabilities — which Millay vetoed before being overturned — could be “in jeopardy” as the president’s position in Congress strengthens.

“Our wages are low, they’re staying the same, and other things are going up. We’re not seeing any change yet,” she added.

Veronica, a retired police officer, is affected by Miley’s pension cuts.

“You see a lot of poverty,” she said. “It is very hard: for pensioners, for people with disabled children, for young people. There is a lot of unemployment. Many factories have closed.

Milei also kept inflation low by propping up the peso, leaving it overvalued and draining reserves ahead of a $20 billion debt repayment next year.

This raised concerns that Argentina could be headed for an economic crisis.

That, combined with a poor election result in Buenos Aires province in September, spooked financial markets that Milei’s spending-cutting agenda might not be politically sustainable.

These factors led the US to step in to help. It has now offered Argentina a potential $40 billion bailout through a combination of currency swaps, buying pesos and arranging private investment.

“If he wins, we stay with him. If he doesn’t win, we’re gone,” Trump threatened.

Doubts about Millay’s political future have grown ahead of that election due to fatigue among some voters with his austerity program, as well as a series of corruption scandals that have rocked his party.

Voter turnout in that election was 67.9%, the lowest in a national election in decades, representing widespread apathy among politicians of all stripes.

Some voters supported it reluctantly.

“Miley has two years left and he has to try to do what he can,” said Dardo, a business owner in Buenos Aires. “I think we’re on the right track, but the middle and working class are suffering too much.”

He is skeptical that US support will help, saying “we’re going to have to pay for it at some point.”

Others, like political science student Thiago, said they understand the need for fiscal balance but questioned Millay’s means.

“There is a lack of investment in hospitals, infrastructure, in people with disabilities,” he said. “There is a certain false hope.”

However, this election result shows that many Argentines remain unwilling to return to the Peronist model that Millay blames for decades of economic mismanagement.

“Argentinians have shown that they do not want to return to the failed model, the model of inflation…the model of a useless state,” he declared.

Financial markets are expected to bounce back after the victory: a sign that for now, Millay’s political survival is also keeping his economic experiment alive – and US support is there.

His new mandate gives him the power to implement more radical changes before the next presidential election in 2027, when his name could be back on the ballot.

The question now is whether ordinary voters are starting to feel better or if the pain of some of his cuts is once again testing people’s patience.

So far, it appears that a significant number of voters are – again – ready to give him time.