Argentina’s Congress Revolt: Milei Suffers Historic Defeat Amid Disability Law Battle

Argentina’s Senate on September 4 overturned President Javier Milei’s veto of a law restoring disability pensions and monthly benefits adjustments, marking the first such override in 22 years.

By voting 63–7, lawmakers ensured funding for about 5 million people with disabilities—nearly 10 percent of the population—despite Milei’s warning that the measure would cost up to 0.42 percent of GDP and threaten his fiscal surplus.

The vote united rivals across the political spectrum: Peronists, the Radical Civic Union and provincial parties joined forces, while Milei’s own party, La Libertad Avanza, stood almost alone.

Outside Congress, beneficiaries, families and therapists celebrated tears and hugs after six hours of debate. This showdown comes amid a corruption scandal at the National Disability Agency.

Leaked audios feature the former agency director alleging that pharmaceutical firms paid 8 percent kickbacks on contracts—3 percent funneled to Milei’s sister, Karina, who leads his presidential office. The timing deepened public outrage, undermining Milei’s anti-corruption promises.

Economically, Milei has delivered his “miracle”: a swing from chronic deficits to six straight months of budget surpluses and a plunge in monthly inflation from 25.5 percent to roughly 2.7 percent.

Yet annual inflation remains above 100 percent, unemployment peaked at 7.9 percent and poverty topped 52 percent before easing slightly, exposing the social cost of deep spending cuts.

Milei’s shock-therapy—suspending subsidies, cutting public‐sector wages, axing infrastructure projects and laying off 50,000 civil‐servants—won praise from Elon Musk and Donald Trump and reassured investors.

But the disability law battle shows that voters reject austerity when it hits vulnerable groups. With provincial elections in Buenos Aires on September 7 and national midterms in October, Milei faces a litmus test.

Polls give his alliance with the PRO party between 32 percent and 42 percent support, trailing Peronists by a few points, while his approval rating has slipped to 43.8 percent from over 50 percent amid the scandal.

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