San Francisco Frontiers - Argentines vote in midterms crucial for Milei's agenda

The mid-term elections are the first national test of support for Milei's budget-slashing cuts and attempts to deregulate the economy since he won power two years ago.

Half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the Senate seats are up for grabs.

The run-up to the vote was marked by a run on the national currency, the peso, that forced Milei to seek a bailout from US President Donald Trump.

Washington has promised an unprecedented $40 billion package of aid, but the assistance came with a warning from Trump to Argentines that he would not "be generous" if the outcome Sunday is unfavorable for Milei.

Some 36 million voters are eligible to cast ballots from 8 am to 6 pm (1100 to 2100 GMT), with preliminary results expected three hours afterwards.

- 'Nothing for workers'

Clad in his trademark leather jacket, the president voted in Buenos Aires on Sunday morning, greeting waiting supporters but refusing media questions.

Adriana Cotoneo, a 69-year-old pensioner also voting in Buenos Aires, told AFP she backed Milei's Liberty Advances (LLA) "not because I believe it's the best option, but because I'm clear about who I want to be gone" -- a reference to the center-left Peronist party that governed Argentina for most of its post-war history but has been dogged by allegations of corruption.

In another district of the capital, Maria Menendez, a 54-year-old health worker, was scathing in her assessment of the president, saying his government had "only given greater benefits to powerful groups and nothing for workers."

A former TV pundit, Milei came to power promising shock therapy for Argentina's long-ailing economy, revving a chainsaw as a symbol of his plan to slash state spending.

He cut tens of thousands of public sector jobs, froze public works, cut spending on health, education and pensions, and led a major deregulation drive.

Nearly two years of austerity were blamed for initially plunging millions of Argentines deeper into poverty. But the policies did slow inflation by two-thirds, although at a cost of faltering economic growth, consumption and manufacturing.

Economists also warn that a heavily overvalued peso is damaging Argentina's competitiveness.

"You cannot fix a hundred years of decline in 20 months," Milei retorted to critics this week.

- US generosity limited -

Investors began dumping the peso after Milei's party suffered a blistering rejection in bellwether provincial elections in Buenos Aires in September.

Analysts say his party and its allies are unlikely to win a majority of seats in Sunday's vote.

This means the LLA would continue to rely on the center-right to pass legislation in the face of entrenched opposition from the statist Peronist movement.

The self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" president has already seen many of his signature policies blocked by Congress, notably his efforts to privatize major state-owned companies.

Adding to his woes, members of Milei's inner circle have been implicated in a variety of scandals.

Washington's assistance package came at a crucial time for the right-winger.

But Mauricio Monge, Latin America economist at Oxford Economics, told AFP that Washington's aid "is not enough to counteract the growing likelihood that the election results will prevent further reforms."

"If history has taught us anything about Argentina, it's that previous bailouts, when political support wanes, have proven futile," he added.

Z.Phillips--SFF