Mood Check for the Nation: Milei’s Libertarian Party Takes Buenos Aires by Storm

On Sunday 18 May 2025, mid-term parliamentary elections were held in the city of Buenos Aires, in which half of the 60 local parliamentary seats were renewed. Although the capital's head of government, Jorge Macri, is still in office until 2027, the elections were stylised in advance by both President Javier Milei and his entourage as well as the Propuesta Republicana (PRO), which is governing Buenos Aires since 2007, as a directional election for the entire nation. The election can be seen as a barometer for the national parliamentary mid-term elections in October, in which the ruling party, currently in a very weak position in the National Congress, wants to massively increase its representation. The election campaign was accordingly fierce. The PRO's weak election result is a consequence of both the fragmentation of the electoral offer in the capital and the party's unclear stance towards the national government. The Peronists, who were ahead in the polls, also fell short of expectations.