Milei hails 'tipping point' as far-right party wins Argentinian midterms

The party of Argentina's far-right president, Javier Milei, won the midterm elections on Sunday after a campaign in which Donald Trump announced a $40bn bailout for the country and made continued aid conditional on the victory of his Argentinian counterpart.

- Tiago Rogero

With more than 99% of ballots counted, La Libertad Avanza secured 40.8% of the nationwide vote in an election widely seen as a de facto referendum on the self-styled anarcho-capitalist's nearly two years in power. The Peronist opposition, Fuerza Patria, secured 31.7%.

The Peronists remain the largest bloc, but when Milei's party is combined with the centre-right PRO party of the former president Mauricio Macri - which has voted with the government over the past two years - the president can push through his libertarian policies.

Milei's victory has surprised analysts and many say even the government itself did not expect such a result, given the recent blows to Milei's popularity from corruption allegations and the economic crisis.

The government had played down expectations, considering anything between 30% and 35% a satisfactory outcome, especially after Milei's heavy defeat in the provincial elections in Buenos Aires in September, when he lost to the Peronists.

This time, Milei's party turned the tide, winning in Argentina's largest electoral district, home to about 40% of the electorate.

"I am the king of a lost world," Milei sang as he took the stage in front of hundreds of supporters. He said: "Today we passed the tipping point - the construction of a great Argentina begins."