Things aren’t looking so good for Javier Milei at the moment. The poster-child of the far-right was elected in 2023, and even enjoyed a solid performance in the 2025 midterm elections – but the President of Argentina has seen the mood sour against him in recent months, and a recession is now looming.
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Is Argentina in recession? Writing on the wall for Javier Milei
Two troubling quarters have pushed Argentina towards the dreaded R-word. Growth forecasts have been slashed by the IMF, and the private sector has come to a screeching halt, with more than 13,000 jobs lost across the labour market over the last three months.
Milei, who shot to global fame with his campaigning theatrics, often appeared on stage with a chainsaw – signifying his intention to cut back on state institutions and related expenditure. His message proved wildly popular with voters, who have largely given their back to Milei in the last few years.
He has also enjoyed major amplification from the likes of Elon Musk, who declared that ‘prosperity awaits Argentina’ when Milei first took office. The world’s first trillionaire has been largely supportive of the political firebrand and his fiercely critical rhetoric regarding left-wing politics.
Nigel Farage backed Javier Milei earlier this summer
Another fanboy comes in the form of Nigel Farage. You only have to go back a few months to find his last slice of fawning praise for Argentina’s head of state, calling him ‘amazing’ and even suggesting that he would consider ‘buying Argentinian bonds’ in the near future.
Argentina’s president forced to confront some very uncomfortable numbers
Well, that sure would make for an interesting investment now. With the economy contracting by 0.6% in Q2, more negative movement has been forecast for Q3, plunging Argentina into a technical recession. And, amid these fiscal anxieties, it now seems that Javier Milei is losing his broad coalition of support.
Compounding the miserable economic outlook, new polling from AtlasIntel should setting alarm bells ringing at HQ. His latest favourability rating shows a -26 point gap between those who see him in a positive manner (36%) and those who hold a negative view (62%).
Anxieties regarding unemployment and corruption have further affected Milei’s popularity, prompting Polymarket to mark down his chances of winning the next election from 56% to 43%, within the past month. And, as reported by Bloomberg, investors are now dumping their sovereign bonds in Argentina.
Nostradamus Nigel strikes again…