Argentina’s political landscape has been upended in recent weeks, as President Javier Milei’s government faces mounting challenges both in the streets and at the ballot box. Two pivotal events—Congress’s rejection of Milei’s veto on a critical disability rights law and a resounding defeat for his party in Buenos Aires province—have exposed deep divides over the country’s future, the role of the state, and the fate of its most vulnerable citizens.
On August 20, 2025, Argentina’s House of Representatives delivered a stinging rebuke to Milei by voting 172 to 73 (with two abstentions) to overturn his veto of an emergency disability law. Just weeks later, on September 4, the Senate followed suit, with 63 out of 70 senators backing the law. The legislation, originally passed on June 5, promises higher pensions for disabled people and increased state spending on disability support—an urgent intervention, according to advocates, as the country’s safety net frays under austerity.
The victory for disability rights activists came after months of public outcry and weekly mobilizations. Mónica Bascuñan, spokesperson for the Disabled People’s Observatory in Mendoza, told Latin America Reports, “The disabled sector is experiencing a brutal crisis because of Milei’s government.” Her words echo the findings of Argentina’s Working Group on Disability and Human Rights, which last year declared the National Disability Agency to be in a state of “notable precariousness.” The agency had laid off 170 workers, including 16 with disabilities, operated without an updated annual budget, and, perhaps most damningly, had “practically deactivated” its national fund for the social inclusion of disabled people.
Compounding the sense of crisis, the government was forced in February to retract an official document that had described disabled people using deeply offensive terms. Bascuñan accused Milei’s administration of “prioritizing the fiscal deficit over the human rights of people with disabilities.” She added, “People with disabilities and their families are demanding that dignified lives be guaranteed.”
For families and care providers, the stakes are painfully real. Alejandro Sapere, a psychologist at the Laura Bonaparte mental health hospital, explained to Latin America Reports that about 40% of his patients rely on a non-contributory pension—just 294,194.02 pesos, or roughly $215 USD per month. “It is not enough for anything,” Sapere said. The uncertainty following Milei’s veto left many in the clinic fearful for their future. Sapere recalled, “People in the clinic were saying ‘if they take away my pension, the truth is, I don’t know how I’m going to live, I’m going to end up on the streets, I’m better off killing myself.’”
The passage of the emergency law, Sapere said, was “a breath of fresh air” and “an accomplishment for all the families of disabled people as well as for those who work to provide care.” But he remains wary, noting that Milei has threatened to challenge the law in court. “It is auspicious that the Legislative Chamber is taking notice, society is taking notice, and the government is retreating,” Sapere remarked, but he cautioned, “the case is not entirely closed.”
Yesica Godio, spokesperson for Argentina’s National Network of Care Providers (RENPO) and an occupational therapist, described the law as a necessary stopgap. “The state of emergency will not resolve all the problems in the [healthcare] system,” she said, “but it will at least allow the system to continue operating at a basic level.” Godio highlighted the determination of the disabled community, which managed to maintain a visible presence in the streets every Wednesday despite significant barriers to mobilization. “We remain on tenterhooks, awaiting the government’s next moves,” she said, warning that Milei’s administration “has declared war on the most vulnerable groups—such as disabled people and retirees—while benefiting other sectors by cutting taxes for the wealthiest.”
Just as disability rights activists were celebrating a hard-won victory, Milei’s political standing suffered another blow. On September 7, his party, La Libertad Avanza, was trounced in the Buenos Aires provincial election—a contest widely viewed as a bellwether ahead of the crucial congressional midterms in late October. With nearly 40% of the country’s population residing in Buenos Aires province, the results sent shockwaves through the political establishment: Milei’s party captured just 34% of the vote, compared to the Peronist opposition’s 47%.
“We suffered a setback, and we must accept it responsibly,” Milei told supporters at party headquarters, according to the Associated Press. “If we’ve made political mistakes, we’re going to internalize them, we’re going to process them, we’re going to modify our actions.” Yet, he insisted, “There will be no retreat in government policy.”
The Peronists, led by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner—still the movement’s most influential voice despite being under house arrest for a corruption conviction—were jubilant. “Did you see that, Milei?” Fernández taunted on social media. “Get out of your bubble, brother. … Things are getting heavy.” She argued that the bribery scandal engulfing Milei’s powerful sister would prove “lethal” for his electoral prospects and lambasted the government’s economic record: “And I won’t even start on how the rest (those who still have jobs) are doing. Burdened with debt for food, rent, utilities or medications, and on top of that, with maxed-out credit cards.”
Axel Kicillof, the left-wing governor of Buenos Aires province and a former protégé of Fernández, seized the moment to deliver a pointed rebuke. “The ballot boxes told Milei that public works cannot be halted. They explained to him that retirees cannot be beaten, that people with disabilities cannot be abandoned,” Kicillof declared to his supporters. “The ballot boxes shouted that education, healthcare, science and culture cannot be defunded.”
The election results have intensified scrutiny of Milei’s economic policies. While he can point to a reduction in Argentina’s triple-digit inflation and the unwinding of currency restrictions as part of a $20 billion IMF bailout, the promised economic revival hasn’t materialized. Consumer confidence is falling, unemployment is rising, and interest rates have soared to record highs. “Milei has a very strong ideology, and his vision is that the state has to have a minimal impact and investments have to come from the private sector. But that hasn’t materialized yet,” political analyst Ana Iparraguirre told the Associated Press.
With the Peronists now the largest bloc in a fragmented Congress, and social spending measures passing despite Milei’s opposition, the president faces a daunting path ahead. As Juan Cruz Díaz of consultancy Cefeidas Group put it, “This result is a key data point to understand the social mood—where the opposition stands, the state of Peronism and the level of support for the government in Argentina’s most important electoral district.”
For now, Argentina stands at a crossroads. The fight over disability rights and the outcome of the Buenos Aires election have underscored the country’s deep divisions—and the high stakes for its most vulnerable citizens. Whether Milei’s government can chart a new course, or whether opposition forces will continue to gain ground, remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Argentines are making their voices heard, in Congress, in the streets, and at the ballot box.
