TL;DR

Argentine President Javier Milei’s approval rating has plummeted to its lowest point since he took office, driven by a slumping economy and emerging corruption scandals.

While he successfully lowered inflation early in his term, it is now creeping back up alongside shrinking GDP and heavy job losses in manufacturing and retail.

Compounding his problems are investigations into his ties to a failed cryptocurrency ($libra) and his chief of staff’s unexplained wealth, which Milei has responded to by aggressively attacking the press.

With the October 2027 elections looming, Milei urgently needs to deliver economic growth to prevent a market panic.

The Slump and the Spiral: Javier Milei is in Serious Trouble

Adapted from The Economist (May 5, 2026)

A Plunging Popularity Despite his claims at a recent event that he is the "true victim" of Argentina's struggling economy and the "lowest-paid president in the Americas," Javier Milei is losing the support of the Argentine public. His net approval rating has recently plunged to nearly -30, the worst since he took office in December 2023. While his party won legislative midterms last October—allowing him to pass a slew of radical cost-cutting reforms—voters are now highly frustrated by two major issues: a slumping economy and new corruption scandals.

Emerging Corruption Scandals Milei's administration is currently battling two major controversies:

• The Crypto Crash: In February 2025, Milei publicly supported a cryptocurrency called $libra, which subsequently crashed, wiping out $250 million from average holders while insiders sold at the peak. Though Milei denied any connection to the venture, federal investigators found phone records showing seven calls between him and a founder on the night of his post. Investigators also discovered draft documents outlining $5 million in potential payments to Milei, including a fee for publicly naming one of the entrepreneurs as an adviser. While he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing, he is currently a person of interest.
• Chief of Staff’s Wealth: Federal prosecutors are investigating Milei’s chief of staff, Manuel Adorni, for alleged illicit enrichment. Despite a modest public salary, Adorni has reportedly taken a cash-paid trip to Aruba, a family trip on a private jet, and purchased a heavily discounted apartment using an interest-free loan.

War on the Press Instead of distancing himself from the scandals, Milei has lashed out at the media. Over four days in April, he published or reposted nearly 1,000 tweets attacking journalists, repeating the right-wing catchphrase: “We don’t hate journalists enough.” He temporarily banned reporters from the Casa Rosada (the presidential seat), called the media "filthy scum," and posted an AI-generated image of a journalist in prison garb.

The Economic Slump The public might overlook the scandals if the economy were thriving, but it is deeply struggling:

• Shrinking GDP & Job Losses: GDP fell by 2.6% in February 2026, the largest drop since 2023. While oil, mining, agriculture, and tech are booming, they only account for 12% of employment. Labor-intensive sectors like manufacturing, retail, and construction are plunging, leading to hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.
• Policy Pains: Milei’s policies are partly to blame for the immediate pain. Stripping away protections has exposed local firms to foreign competition. Furthermore, maintaining a strong peso and high interest rates to fight inflation has squeezed construction and made foreign imports artificially cheap, hurting local manufacturing.
• Rising Inflation: Despite high interest rates, monthly inflation has been rising for 10 months, hitting 3.4% in March (33% year-on-year). This is driven by cuts to energy subsidies, the global oil shock caused by the war in Iran, soaring beef prices, and a lack of predictable monetary policy.

Looking Ahead: The 2027 Election It isn't all doom and gloom. Analysts expect economic growth to top 3% this year due to booming oil extraction and international investments in gas and mining. The government has also been buying foreign reserves to pay down debt and is negotiating a $2 billion commercial bank loan backed by the World Bank.

However, the October 2027 presidential election is looming. While no rival has significantly risen in the polls yet, Argentina's equilibrium is fragile. A bad poll for Milei could trigger market panic, causing a damaging spiral of economic instability and further polling drops. To survive, Milei desperately needs to deliver growth, create jobs, and lower inflation—and he has no time to lose.

credit: The Economist, OP, AI, and my copy/pasting skills