The Argentine president’s libertarian experiment is in tatters, and his hold on power seems increasingly dependent on volatile US support
-
Jordana Timerman is a journalist based in Buenos Aires; she edits the Latin America Daily Briefing
In 1946, Argentina was emerging from military rule, an empowered labour movement was reshaping politics and Col Juan Perón, a leftwing leader who had introduced a raft of popular workers’ rights decrees, was rising fast in the polls. The then US ambassador, Spruille Braden, had other ideas about who should win the national election that year, and he openly campaigned against Perón in Buenos Aires. Braden’s action stands out as one of the most brazen instances of US interference in Argentina’s politics. Until now.
The Argentine president, Javier Milei, who won a resounding midterm victory on Sunday, has received ample support from Donald Trump. Ahead of the congressional elections, Trump endorsed Milei and warned: “If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.” Washington extended a $20bn currency swap line to the government – money aimed at stabilising financial volatility that would have undermined Milei’s chances. The US treasury even intervened directly, buying more than a billion dollars of pesos to slow the currency’s freefall in recent weeks.