A little over a month before Argentina’s October 26 national midterm elections, Argentina’s President Javier “chainsaw” Milei and his scandal-ridden government are in total panic, as the country’s financial markets and Milei’s approval rating have collapsed amidst a worsening economic crisis, a stock market crash, and major political defeats. After his crushing defeat in the September 7 midterm elections in the province of Buenos Aires, Milei is pinning everything on his Freedom Advances (LLA) party doing well on October 26. He has managed to secure a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the UN on September 23, after Trump addresses the UN General Assembly, and will attend a Trump meeting later that evening organized for “allies,” hoping he can claim this as evidence of Trump’s “support” to boost his electoral chances. Trump has maintained some distance from Milei recently.
But a run on the peso is wreaking havoc in the economy and Finance Minister Luis Caputo’s efforts to keep the peso/dollar exchange rate under control by madly selling scarce dollar reserves have failed. Hence Milei’s report to La Voz del Interior September 19 that negotiations for a loan from the U.S. Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, for an unspecified amount, are “very well advanced,” to allow the government to pay the $8 billion it owes the IMF in 2026. This is supposed to be evidence of U.S. support, but leading Argentine financial analysts warn that the situation is too far gone. La Política Online reported today that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hasn’t publicly confirmed the Treasury loan and has even expressed hesitation about overt support for Argentina. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also opposes any bailout for Argentina according to this report.
