Javier Milei’s crypto-friendly party wins Argentine midterm

Argentine President Javier Milei’s crypto-friendly party has won the midterm election, positioning him as a leading contender for the October 2027 presidential race and bolstering his continued push for free-market policies.

Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party obtained 40.68% of nearly 99% of votes counted to secure the victory over the Peronist party, according to local news outlet La Nacion. That included a win in the Buenos Aires province, which has historically favored the Peronist party.

The results flip the script from September, when Milei’s party lost the Buenos Aires provincial election to the Peronist party in a lopsided outcome. Perhaps the most notable development since then has been Argentina’s $20 billion currency swap with the US — strengthening economic ties with one of its biggest allies despite domestic uncertainty.

While the Peronist party remains a congressional majority, the result affirms that Milei will again be a frontrunner in Argentina’s next presidential election in October 2027.

Source: La Libertad Avanza
As a former economist, Milei has focused much of his efforts on enabling free markets, reducing inflation, and pushing for less state intervention.

He played a role in legalizing contracts to be settled in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in December 2023.

Milei’s involvement in the Libra scandal knocked public trust

However, his work on crypto policy has been overshadowed by his role in the Libra (LIBRA) token corruption scandal in February.

The LIBRA token — launched by Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis — soared to a $4.6 billion market cap following a controversial X post from Milei mentioning the token before it crashed 94% within a few hours, sparking allegations of insider trading and market manipulation.

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Milei said he “spread the word” about the LIBRA token in a controversial X post, but insists that he didn’t promote it.

Argentina’s corruption watchdog has since cleared Milei of any wrongdoing.

Milei is still viewed negatively, polls suggest

Data from Argentine polling platform Zuban Córdoba found that Milei’s image tanked from 47.3% in November to 41.6% in March in light of the crypto scandal.

October data from the center-left pollsters show that 63.2% of Argentines now view Milei’s image in a negative light, up considerably over 21 percentage points from March. It should, however, be noted that Zuban Córdoba is widely critical of far-right and libertarian policies.

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