About the Electoral Farce in Argentina
On October 26, elections were held to elect one-third of the representatives in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in Argentina, a total of 24 senators and 127 deputies. The La Libertad Avanza (LLA) Party, led by Javier Milei, won narrowly. The Association of New Democracy – Germany (AND-A) has published an article regarding this matter. AND-A reports that the LLA Party is “the main representative of the comprador faction of the big bourgeoisie.”
AND-A emphasizes that Milei focuses “on investment and private enterprise, both native and imperialist. He openly declares himself a lackey of Yankee imperialism and, not only that, but in the dispute between imperialist factions in the US, he aligns himself with Trump and the Republican Party (RP). His government is more oppressive and traitorous than all its predecessors.” Furthermore, his government “is implementing further cuts to freedoms, rights, and benefits won by the Argentine proletariat and people in hard and bloody struggles; economic measures, which he calls “reforms,” for new capital accumulation in the face of the deep crisis that bureaucratic capitalism is experiencing in Argentina. His measures benefit the big bourgeoisie, landowners, and imperialism.” On the other hand, this last electoral farce has represented “a major defeat and further disillusionment for the main party representing the bureaucratic faction of the big bourgeoisie” the Unión Por la Patria (UP) party.
Percentages and number of votes in the election of deputies:
Percentages and number of votes in the election of senators:
The LLA Party won in the province of Buenos Aires, which accounts for 40% of voters, as well as in the following five largest electoral districts. Despite this apparently strong victory for Milei, the outcome is actually characterized as a Pyrrhic victory because among other reasons: “Neither the government nor the opposition has a majority in either chamber, so the collusion and reactionary struggle will be more acute between the parties representing the comprador factions (LLA) and their allies, and especially with the representatives of the bureaucratic Peronist and revisionist factions.”
Voter turnout has also declined, dropping from 77.01% in the 2023 legislative elections to 67.85% in this election, just two years later. Furthermore, a majority of voters—6 out of 10—voted for other Parties, not for Javier Milei’s, indicating that he has a majority of voters against him.
Regarding its relationship with Yankee imperialism, AND-A points out that Trump had supported Milei and stated that “a US financial bailout, in the form of a $20 billion currency swap, depended on his success in the elections.” This was seen by the Trump administration as “as a way to strengthen US influence in South America and counter China’s growing influence in the region.” It explains also how the bureaucratic bourgeoisie serves Yankee imperialism: “the previous government, led by the Peronist Fernández and his Minister of Economy, Massa, begged for the support of the Biden administration and the IMF for the last elections”.
What marks a difference this time, compared to the way other U.S. governments like Joe Biden’s intervened, is that the intervention by Yankee imperialism led by Trump is more direct and explicit. Furthermore, Milei’s willingness to be a lackey is greater and more explicit than that in the case of previous Argentine State leaders. However, AND-A also concludes that while Trump’s intervention was significant for the new electoral farce in Argentina, it was not decisive. Rather, it was an important factor that reflects the country’s semi-colonial situation and the alignment of Milei’s government with “the imperialist faction of the North American financial oligarchy headed by Trump.”
