A $40bn rescue may have helped Javier Milei scrape through midterms, but it leaves Argentina’s democracy and economy more dependent than ever on WashingtonArgentina’s rightwing president, Javier Milei, his party and its allies claimed victory this week in key congressional elections. But it was Donald Trump who emerged the biggest winner. A $40bn lifeline from the US president gave Mr Milei’s beleaguered government just enough credibility – and apparent firepower – to halt the Argentinian peso’s slide. Crucially, this helped to stabilise consumer prices in the final weeks of the campaign. The US rescue engendered a short-lived aura of competence that allowed Mr Milei to shift the blame for rising prices back to the opposition, despite his own role in accelerating inflation by devaluing the currency when he took office.Mr Milei’s wasn’t a decisive triumph. His rightwing coalition got 40% of the midterms vote thanks largely to a low turnout and a fragmented opposition. His “chainsaw” programme of privatisation and public spending cuts has not been popular. Polls suggest that six in 10 voters disapprove. Unsurprising, perhaps: since Mr Milei took office in December 2023, Argentinians’