Milei suffers heavy defeat in Buenos Aires legislative elections

"In Argentina, it's never a good idea to write off Peronism the dominant leftist movement for much of the past 75 years too early. Javier Milei had to take note of that this Sunday night, much to his regret. The legislative elections in the province of Buenos Aires, where 40% of the national electorate lives, dealt a heavy defeat to the far-right president. The official results, with 96% of polling stations counted, gave Peronism gathered in its various forms under the Fuerza Patria front 47% of the votes in the general tally, against 33.8% for Milei's La Libertad Avanza (Liberty Advances) party, a difference of more than 13 points."

"Today we've had a clear defeat, and we have to accept it, Milei said from his campaign headquarters in La Plata, the provincial capital. They deployed the entire Peronist machine they've controlled for 40 years, and this would be their ceiling and our floor, he added, warning right away that no one should expect major changes: We will not backtrack even a millimeter on government policy; we're going to accelerate the course even further."

Peronism, united under the Fuerza Patria front, won 47% of the vote in Buenos Aires province while Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza received 33.8% with 96% of polling stations counted. Buenos Aires province contains about 40% of the national electorate. Milei's alliance with Pro and the ruling coalition failed to prevent the loss. Milei acknowledged defeat but vowed to accelerate government policy and not backtrack. Axel Kicillof celebrated the result, played a recorded message from Cristina Kirchner, and said the polls demand governing for the people rather than for outsiders.

Read at english.elpais.com