Although the presidential election is still a year away, Javier Milei’s prospects for reelection in October 2027 are a source of concern for markets, particularly amid the economy’s latest unfavorable indicators.
Against this backdrop, Atlas Impulse and Bloomberg released their latest public opinion poll on Argentina, focusing in particular on Milei’s libertarian administration.
A total of 57.2% of respondents have a negative opinion of Milei, while 38.5% approve of him. Since disapproval peaked at 63% in April, his image has improved slightly, but his negative rating remains well above 2024 and early 2025 levels, when they hovered between 45% and 48%.
Nevertheless, Milei remains one of the country’s best-rated politicians. He is surpassed only by Cristina Kirchner, with a 39% positive rating, and Myriam Bregman, who matches Milei’s positive rating but has a lower negative rating.
By contrast, assessments of the government as a whole have not improved. Disapproval of the administration rose to 54.2%, up from 53% in the previous poll, nearing the peak of 59% recorded in April this year.
Views on the current economic situation were predominantly negative. A total of 71% of respondents described it as bad, compared with 21% who said it was good.
As for their own household finances, 60% of respondents said their situation was bad.
Dissatisfaction was even greater regarding the labor market, with 75% of respondents describing the situation as bad.
This comes as Argentina’s unemployment rate reached 7.9% in the second quarter, its highest level since 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pessimism
Looking ahead six months, respondents were predominantly pessimistic across all the three areas surveyed. A total of 48% expect their household situation to worsen, while that figure rises to 55% for the Argentine economy and 57% for the labor market.
Meanwhile, the government measures that received the most negative assessments were largely related to cuts to benefits and pensions for retirees and people with disabilities.
The reduction in prescription drug coverage for retirees received the worst rating, with 73% of respondents disapproving the measure.
Cuts to the budget of the National Disability Agency (71%), the veto of pension increases and the suspension of public works projects (both 66%), and the lifting of price controls on prepaid private health insurance (61%) also drew high levels of disapproval.
At the other end of the spectrum, the best-rated measures were the elimination of intermediaries in social welfare programs (63% approval), the removal of foreign-exchange restrictions for individual buyers (53%), the anti-roadblock protocol (53%), the closure and merger of government ministries (52%), and the opening up of imports (47%).
La entrada Milei’s image improves slightly, but government and economy ratings worsen se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald.