Argentina’s annual opening of Congress turned into a nearly two-hour shouting match on Sunday night as President Javier Milei used the state-of-the-nation address to hurl insults at the opposition, trumpet legislative wins, and pledge an ambitious calendar of structural reforms. The session felt less like a formal address than a political rally, with La Libertad Avanza lawmakers chanting and Kirchnerist deputies heckling without microphones.
Milei labelled his opponents “thieves,” “murderers,” “parasites,” and “cavemen.” He singled out former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest for corruption, taunting Kirchnerist lawmakers with the reminder that their leader remains in prison. The opposition responded with boos and shouts, but official cameras did not show them during the broadcast.
The Legislative Record
Beneath the theatre, the policy substance was significant. Milei arrived emboldened by his strongest legislative stretch since taking office in late 2023. His coalition has approved Argentina’s most sweeping labour reform in 50 years, lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 14, ratified the Mercosur-EU trade deal, passed an initial revision of glacier protection law, and secured the first budget of his presidency.
La Libertad Avanza, allied with PRO, won the 2025 midterms to consolidate the largest bloc in both chambers, obtaining the one-third threshold needed to sustain presidential vetoes. Political scientist Juan Negri of Torcuato Di Tella University told AP that Milei now commands a majority that seemed unthinkable in 2023.
What Comes Next
Milei announced that each ministry has prepared ten reform packages, to be introduced monthly over nine months. The agenda includes rewriting the civil and commercial code, overhauling the tax system, and deepening trade liberalisation. He also signalled plans to modify environmental regulations, in a veiled reference to the glacier protection law that safeguards freshwater for seven million Argentines near the Andes.
Industry Under Fire
In a notable escalation, Milei attacked Argentina’s industrial elite, calling protected manufacturers “corrupt” and “zoo hunters” who resist import competition to preserve unearned advantages. The broadside came days after tyre manufacturer Fate shuttered operations, a casualty of the government’s rapid trade opening that has lowered consumer prices on clothing, electronics, and tyres but pushed domestic factories to the brink.
The Trump Factor
Milei credited Trump with enabling Argentina to renegotiate its IMF programme, resolve a currency crisis, and attract what he called the largest wave of foreign investment in the country’s history. He then made his most expansive geopolitical pitch yet, urging the hemisphere to build what he called “the century of the Americas — Make Americas Great Again, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.”
The speech left little doubt about the second half of Milei’s term: use his congressional majority to dismantle regulatory frameworks at speed, deepen alignment with Washington, and treat the opposition as an obstacle to be humiliated rather than a partner in governance. Whether that strategy sustains reform or deepens polarisation may define Argentina’s trajectory through to the next election.
This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Latin American news and Latin American financial news.
For more context, read Brazil’s Morning Call and the Latin American Pulse.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times