The Latin American Report # 621

The Argentines who went to the polls yesterday supported Javier Milei's government to an extremely representative and somewhat surprising degree, by consistently increasing the organic muscle of La Libertad Avanza in the legislative power. This election offers very rich readings on the Argentine political landscape, because this time citizens did not vote for a campaign-announced program but for one in full development, nearly two years old, with its good and bad impacts depending on the perspective of whoever analyzes or feels its effects in their own flesh, or in their wallet.

The Argentines decided based on the most recent statements from the head of the Pink House, who did not commit to things certainly difficult to forecast, like when those improvements achieved at the macro level would be perceived in the microeconomy. On the contrary, the references are vague, such as that if his proposed path is supported, in about seven or ten years the country could resemble Spain, with a bit more time Germany, then the United States, and potentially be, at a minimum, in the top 3 after 2060.

That is, Milei is making clear that in the immediate, and even medium term, what lies ahead is more sacrifice, more adjustment, and more reforms aimed, in principle, at making the economy take off at some point and lift the majority of Argentines. Thus, the electorate seems interested in not aborting the experiment and letting the occupant of Balcarce 50 test his idea, assuring he has all the guarantees to defend his argument that what he proposes "works wherever it is applied."

In truth, such a good performance was not foreseen for the ruling party, which, at most, was estimated to clash in a head-to-head confrontation with Peronism, which had navigated very well the wave of the provincial legislative election in Buenos Aires last September. A figure to scrutinize from yesterday's election was the abstention rate, which was high despite the fact that voting is compulsory in the southern nation. Specifically, participation stood at around 68%, meaning we are talking about a portion of 32% of the national registry who, had they participated, would have contributed to shaping a different map, either to further solidify La Libertad Avanza's victory or to reduce it or even deny it.

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With the 64 deputies that the Milei's party obtained, plus the political deals it can reach to build a solid coalition with other forces—the liberal economist was very conciliatory in this sense in his speech yesterday—, the government will now have a much less obstructed path to advance major labor and tax reforms that were not possible in the current legislature. Similarly, it would have sufficient capacity to defend presidential vetoes. Of the eight provinces renewing their senatorial seats in the national Congress, La Libertad Avanza was the most voted political force in six, winning 13 seats.

In general, with its organic allies from the PRO, which answers to Mauricio Macri, the libertarian bloc will constitute the most represented force in the Chamber of Deputies, although it does not configure a simple majority, while it matches forces with Peronism in the so-called high chamber, where Peronism lost six seats. One question that remains is what impact the extraordinary support from the White House—which aided the owner of the chair of Rivadavia at perhaps the moment of greatest political convulsion in his administration—had on the voter, and on the general electoral atmosphere, not to mention Trump's statements in which he seemed to tie that support to a victory for Milei this past Sunday. "He had a lot of help from us," said Donald Trump to the press aboard Air Force One, while the markets also seem to be responding happily to the result.

Gracias Presidente @realDonaldTrump por confiar en el pueblo argentino. Usted es un gran amigo de la República Argentina. Nuestras Naciones nunca debieron dejar de ser aliadas. Nuestros pueblos quieren vivir en libertad. Cuente conmigo para dar la batalla por la civilización… pic.twitter.com/G4APcYIA2i

— Javier Milei (@JMilei) October 27, 2025

Congratulations to President @JMilei on La Libertad Avanza's very successful midterm election. President Milei has a renewed mandate for change.

Argentina is a vital ally in Latin America. These results are a clear example that the Trump Administration policy of Peace through… pic.twitter.com/tjcciFSkxG

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 27, 2025

The regional news brief via X

Lula finds his way with Trump somehow 👇

Brazil’s leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed confidence that his country and the United States will reach a trade deal, saying that U.S. President Donald Trump had practically “guaranteed” it during their talks the day before. https://t.co/5Wg9H8p1aZ

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 27, 2025

On Melissa. This will hit really hard in the Caribbean 👇

Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica and threatens to be the island’s strongest recorded stormhttps://t.co/xFQx46wwym

— 7News Boston WHDH (@7News) October 27, 2025

Here are the scenes in Jamaica right now where Category 5 Hurricane Melissa with winds of 175 MPH is barreling towards.

Jamaica is expecting up to 40 inches of rain and 13 feet of storm surge. Meteorologists are expecting a life-threatening catastrophe in Jamaica starting this… pic.twitter.com/3OFBIjDBeA

— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) October 27, 2025

The Venezuela affair👇

Two U.S. Air Force B-1B “Lancer” Long-Range Heavy Bombers with the 34th Bomb Squadron are currently tracing the coast of Venezuela over the Southern Caribbean, less than 50 miles from the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. At several points, the bombers likely came within only a few… pic.twitter.com/bgHsqoF3uc

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 27, 2025

Venezuela claims capture of CIA group, accuses U.S. of plotting ‘false flag’ attack https://t.co/9osL5BLVyV

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) October 27, 2025

This is all for today’s report.