Javier Milei's populist party comes first in Buenos Aires elections

In a boost for the party ahead of October's midterms, the Argentinian president's spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, secured 30.1% of the vote.

Javier Milei's populist right-wing party swept to victory in local elections in Buenos Aires on Sunday, consigning the centre-right to third in what was once its stronghold. In a political upset for Argentina's main conservative party, Propuesta Republicana (PRO), the president's La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party secured 30.1% of the vote in the capital, more than doubling its share of the vote compared with the city's 2023 elections.Argentina's left-leaning Peronist party finished second with 27.4% of the vote. Milei celebrated the win of the LLA candidate, Manuel Adorni, who is also his spokesperson, by jumping up on stage and waving his arms as rock music played. “Today is a pivotal day for the ideas of freedom," the president told a crowd of supporters. There was a low turnout for Sunday's elections, with just 53% of the city's 2.5 million eligible voters casting their ballots in a vote where half of the 60 legislative seats were up for grabs.The LLA's victory in the capital cements its position as the opposition to the Peronist left, which ruled Argentina for much of the last two decades. The spectre of 'Kirchnerism' “What this election yielded is that society understands we're the best way to end Kirchnerism for good, which was nothing but a tragedy for Argentina,” Adorni said in his victory speech, referring to the Peronist political movement of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.Kirchner ruled the country for eight years after succeeding her husband in 2007, and oversaw a period of economic turmoil marked by high inflation, uncontrolled spending and large budget deficits. The country has received more bailouts from the International Monetary Fund than any other, and became infamous for defaulting on its debts.Milei, who brands himself as an “anarcho-capitalist”, came to power in 2023 promising to shrink Argentina's bureaucracy, bring down spiralling inflation and attract foreign investors.But Milei has been condemned for his disregard for democratic institutions, divisive rhetoric and climate denialism. The president was widely criticised earlier this year after he appointed two Supreme Court judges by decree, bypassing the Senate during its recess. The move was widely regarded as an abuse of executive authority. Milei also triggered protests after he compared homosexuality to paedophilia, and announced plans to remove the concept of femicide from the penal code.The LLA win and voters' abandonment of the PRO party may boost Milei's chances in the country's key midterm elections, which are due to take place in October.It also heats up the rivalry between the populist firebrand president and the former conservative President Mauricio Macri. While Macri has indicated his willingness to work with Milei to keep the left from power, he has also criticised the president's aggressive approach to politics.Deepfake video targets PRO candidateThe election was marred by a deepfake video circulating on Elon Musk's platform X, purporting to show the PRO leader, Macri, announcing that his party was withdrawing its candidate, Silvia Lospennato. The party did not make any such announcement, and Lospennato ended up finishing third with 15.9% of the vote. The video, which was created with artificial intelligence, showed a likeness of Macri telling voters to back Adorni, the LLA candidate, instead. The PRO party has filed a complaint with the Buenos Aires Electoral Tribunal over the deepfake video, the provenance of which remains unclear.The court has ordered the platform to remove the manipulated video. Euronews has reached out to X for comment.