Libertarian president of Argentina, elected in late 2023 running as an angry outsider who attacked la casta (the political elite) as corrupt, labelling his rivals "thieves" and "rats". A self-described Donald Trump "super-fan". His sister Karina Milei, who sold cakes before his rise, serves as his chief of staff and leads campaign strategy. Fernando Cerimedo, an Argentine political strategist, worked on digital-media strategy for his campaign and claims to have encouraged Mr Milei to bring a chainsaw on stage at rallies. Mr Cerimedo also secured an interview for him on The Tucker Carlson Show when he was trailing in the polls—a boost that made him an international sensation and caught Mr Trump's attention. Mr Cerimedo has since parted ways with Mr Milei after falling out with his inner circle.
Milei has slashed government spending and brought raging inflation sharply down, from around 13% per month before he took office to about 2.5% by late 2025. Argentina's poverty rate has fallen to its lowest since 2018. He has also slashed red tape, improving everything from internet access to airlines; Federico Sturzenegger serves as his minister of deregulation and state transformation. In April 2025 his government partially floated the peso within a band, prompted in part by the IMF. He has encouraged Argentines to bring an estimated $270bn hidden in mattresses back into the formal economy through looser rules on tax evasion.
Despite these successes, the strong peso hampered foreign-reserve accumulation, and the government badly missed IMF reserve targets. The strong peso also induced imports, creating a current-account deficit. In July 2025 the peso fell by over 12%. From January 2026 the peso's band limits were set to widen in line with inflation rather than by a fixed 1% per month, accompanied by a plan to buy some $10bn in reserves in 2026. Capital Economics said the peso would remain overvalued.
Milei's style is to rage against perceived enemies; the press is a prime target. "People don't hate journalists enough" is one of his catchphrases. His hold on the rural interior is firmest, especially among young men. His sister Karina Milei serves as his chief of staff and leads campaign strategy, but her management has drawn criticism; she was named in a corruption scandal involving kickbacks at the state disability agency. Milei also promoted a cryptocurrency that soon collapsed in value.
In September 2025, after a string of legislative defeats and corruption scandals, the peso came under intense pressure. Scott Bessent, America's treasury secretary, intervened with a $20bn swap line, describing the help as a "bridge to the election". Trump told Milei that "if he doesn't win, we're gone"—sending markets plunging. Equilibra, an Argentine consultancy, found that average real incomes for 14.5m Argentines had stagnated at around 6% below pre-Milei levels since March 2025.
On October 26th 2025 Milei's party won the national mid-terms with almost 41% of the vote, nine percentage points ahead of the Peronists—a landslide that far surpassed expectations. Turnout of 68% was the lowest since 1983. Liberty Advances even won Buenos Aires province, enjoying a 15-point swing from its September defeat. Bessent hinted that American support would now be more limited.
Despite not having a majority, his government passed almost its entire legislative agenda in early 2026—including a budget, a major labour reform, a reform lowering the age of criminal responsibility and a trade deal with Europe. His approval ratings have softened but remain above those of the past two presidents at this point in their terms. Since 2009 the party that wins the mid-terms has lost the subsequent presidential election.
By May 2026 his net approval rating had plunged to almost -30, the worst since he took office. Monthly inflation, after falling to 1.5%, has been rising for ten months, hitting 3.4% in March (~33% year on year). GDP fell 2.6% month on month in February—the largest drop since 2023—as manufacturing and retail activity plunged. Oil, mining and agriculture (12% of employment together with tech) are booming, while manufacturing, retail and construction—more labour-intensive—are shrinking. Federal investigators are probing seven phone calls between Milei and one of the businessmen behind $LIBRA on the night of his February 2025 post backing the coin; draft documents on the businessmen's phones outlined three potential payments totalling $5m, including for naming one of them as an adviser. Mr Milei has not been charged. His chief of staff, Manuel Adorni, is separately being investigated for alleged illicit enrichment. In mid-April 2026 his government briefly blocked reporters from the Casa Rosada.
Milei's election victory in October 2025 owed in part to Donald Trump's financial support. Ratification of Mercosur's trade deal with the EU might make it harder for Milei to carry out his occasional threats to leave the bloc.
Milei is raising Argentina's defence budget from 0.5% of GDP to 2% over seven years and has applied for NATO-partner status. He wants to modernise the armed forces with NATO-compatible equipment. On the Falkland Islands, he has broken with Argentine convention: he openly admires Margaret Thatcher, admits the islands "are in the hands of the UK", says Argentina will not retake them by force, and has appeared to imply the islanders have a right to self-determination—Britain's position. Defence dialogue between Argentina and Britain has restarted under his presidency after a long hiatus.
In gratitude for Bessent's $20bn swap-line support, Milei removed Argentina's export tax on soyabeans. China immediately bought 20 shiploads from Argentina, at a time when it had stopped buying American soya entirely—embarrassing the administration that had bailed him out.
Despite his pro-American instincts, Milei has softened on China. He renewed a $5bn swap line from China despite an American special envoy calling it "extortionate" and saying the United States wanted it to end. In November 2024 he told The Economist that "the well-being of Argentines requires that I deepen my commercial ties with China". Polling by Premise, a Washington-based research firm, found that 56% of Argentines say he should maintain strong economic ties with China; only 15% disagree.
Argentina has a Chinese ground station for relaying radio signals to space in its south. Like the rest of China's space programme, the station is run by an arm of the army. Milei has largely ignored the issue.
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