The president of the United States, Donald Trump, not for reasons of defense and security, for loyalty to his historical allies or for values that must be defended. No. The Republican seeks transactions, benefits, tightening the rope if necessary to extract from each nation what is convenient for him or entertaining those who agree with him to expand his base of support… and his benefit. This is what he does with Argentina, a State with which he strengthens relations because a) there is a fellow religionist in charge, like Javier Milei, and b) he is interested in getting the most out of it.
He made it very clear last night, when he assured that the party of the Argentine president, Javier Milei, in the legislative elections this Sunday, has made his country win “a lot of money.” “I think we’ve made a lot of money right now from that election, because bonds have gone up. The entire debt rating has improved. That election made a lot of money for the United States,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, before arriving in Japan.
The Republican made reference to the agreement between Washington and Buenos Aires with which the Trump Administration intends to inject liquidity in dollars into the Argentine economy to give it a boost. A swap line was agreed – a currency exchange that when executed becomes a debt – worth 20 billion with the US and they are working on another support instrument for the same value, which would raise the financial support to the Latin American country to about 40 billion dollars in total.
“I want to congratulate the winner. He was a great winner and he had a lot of help from us. He received a lot of help. I gave him my support, very firm support. And it was really unexpected to get that victory, since some thought it would be difficult to win. And not only did he win, but he did it by a wide margin. It was fantastic,” declared Trump, who did not shy away from claiming his share of glory.
“He had a lot of help from us. He had a lot of help. I gave him my support, very strong support. And it was really unexpected to get that victory, because some people thought it would be difficult to win. And not only did he win, but he did it by a wide margin. It was fantastic.”
The American celebrated that Milei’s party, whom he considers a close ally, won in the most important provinces and territories of Argentina, such as the city of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe and Mendoza, and obtained an unexpected victory in the province of Buenos Aires, where it had been crushed by Peronism in the provincial elections last September.
Beyond a simple endorsement of the candidate, Trump even made aid to Argentina conditional on Milei’s victory in these elections. The president also recognized the work of the Secretary of the Treasury, who personally negotiated financial aid with private institutions and highlighted his work towards South American countries. “We are supporting many countries in South America. We focus a lot on South America and we are achieving great influence in South America in many ways,” he commented.
Starting the chainsaw
While a man from Washington boasted of his victory, Milei, elated, was already advancing the first steps he is going to take, now that he has gained stability in the country’s Chambers. He says he is more convinced of deepening his objectives of deregulating the economy and putting in the chainsaw, a model that Trump also applies in the US (which is still in ).
Milei tried to present himself as more moderate and dialogue-oriented, because he did not now accuse his opponents of being “rats” or “baboons” and because he reiterated his call to provincial governors and opposition legislators to seek agreements, an initiative demanded by the Trump Government to give sustainability to the far-right program. “Just yesterday [por el domingo] We open the dialogue. I am willing to sit down with the governors,” the president remarked this Monday, in dialogue with channel A24. “I now need a political counterpart to advance with the reforms. We have already fulfilled 98% of our campaign promises. With this result I have to go look for the reforms that I am missing.”
In particular, Milei referred to what he called “second-generation reforms,” a modification of tax and labor market regimes. “In terms of taxes, we plan to lower taxes and we will also move towards labor modernization that does not imply a loss of rights,” he stated. And he sent a message to the union centers: “The unions know that this does not work, that if they think of it as a business they are liquidated.” Without giving details about his projects, he suggested that with them “everyone will win because there will be more registered workers.” Today informal employment exceeds 40% in Argentina.
The Government already has a base text: the “Investment and Employment Promotion Law”, presented in 2024 by the libertarian deputy Romina Diez, close to Karina Milei. The initiative seeks to encourage formal hiring through tax benefits for SMEs and recover some articles of DNU 70/2023, suspended by Justice.
The project that the Casa Rosada hopes to send to Congress in December aims to “update legislation that is more than half a century old,” as explained by the Secretary of Labor, Julio Cordero. Among the axes that are negotiated in the May Council are:
- Agreements by company with greater flexibility to negotiate working conditions.
- Salary increases for productivity or individual merit.
- Extension of the trial period, from three to six months, and up to 12 in the case of SMEs.
- Digitization of labor records and simplification of procedures.
- Creation of a bank of hours, which will allow the day to be reorganized according to demand.
- Termination funds as an alternative to traditional compensation.
The scheme also contemplates controversial measures, such as the possibility of fragmenting vacations, extending the working day up to 12 hours and paying part of the salary in vouchers or tickets, a practice that has already had judicial objections. It also includes the option of paying compensation for labor disputes in installments.
To change or not to change
Just as the electoral support led Milei to revive his proposals, he also told him what he had announced for his Executive. It was a direct consequence of how unexpected, even for the Government, the results were. “Who thought we could win the province of Buenos Aires? We are going to take that into account for the changes,” he said. It remains to be seen who and how he leaves, in the end.
The biggest surprise of the elections, the basis of Milei’s national triumph, was registered in the largest and most populated province of Argentina, where almost 38% of the country’s voting population resides. There, 50 days ago, La Libertad Avanza had lost by almost 14 points to Peronism, in the local elections. This Sunday, the far-right reversed the defeat in Buenos Aires and won with 42.45% of the votes compared to 40.91% for Fuerza Patria, the Peronist list.
“This reconfigures the political structure that I must put together to negotiate and approve the laws that I promised Argentines,” Milei said. “The cabinet is designed according to the alliances it has to seek. It will be built in light of the new Congress,” he said. What will not be modified, he assured, is what he calls “the iron triangle”, the structure that concentrates decision-making power around him and is made up of his sister, Karina Milei, and his advisor Santiago Caputo. The clashes and tensions between the sectors that both represent have marked the future of the Government in its almost two years of administration.
Some casualties in the Executive have already been confirmed. Last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs resigned, questioned internally for failures in the negotiation with Trump. He has already been replaced by Pablo Quirno, former Secretary of Finance. The head of Justice, Mariano Cúneo Libarona, had also announced his resignation this Monday, but he had not yet formalized his departure. The Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, and her Defense counterpart, Luis Petri, as well as the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, were elected legislators and will leave their positions when they assume their seats, on December 10.
With its 40% of votes nationwide, La Libertad Avanza will reach, by adding allies, 107 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, out of a total of 257. That number will allow it to sustain presidential decrees and vetoes, and will leave it close to being able to approve laws by a simple majority. In the Senate, it will have 24 seats, a third of the body made up of 72 legislators.
For its part, with 31% of the votes it received in these elections, Peronism will retain 98 seats in the Deputies and a third of the Senate. It will see its firepower diminished in Congress, but it will continue to be the main opposition. The rest of the benches – provincial, left and center – will play the role of arbitrators in a polarized Parliament.
