Myriam Bregman: the ‘heroine’ Gotham deserves?

The first half of Javier Milei’s Presidency was marked by an incredible resilience in his popularity, particularly in the face of the “chainsaw” austerity measures he promised during the campaign and delivered in office. Milei, a self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” libertarian, set fire to the traditional rulebooks of Argentine politics, giving him an aura of invincibility that translated into a capacity to govern despite  being in total minority in both chambers of Congress and counting on zero territorial presence in provinces and municipalities. Even when the ‘honeymoon period’ seemed to begin to end – such as when the ‘$LIBRA’ crypto-scandal broke – the La Libertad Avanza leader clawed his way back into the game and regained momentum. Not once, but twice – again with the near-miss that occurred when Axel Kicillof’s candidates won the local elections in Buenos Aires Province and the peso-dollar exchange rate appeared to spin out of control. President Milei took charge of the campaign, secured unprecedented support from his buddy, US President Donald Trump, and surprised everyone with a major win in national midterm elections. Now, he’s facing the largest and most sustained decline in his public image yet, in great part associated with a continued decline in economic conditions, and the question is whether he’ll be able to recover once again, or whether he’ll suffer the all-too-common fate of many of Argentina’s traditional politicians as they transit the third and fourth years of their presidency.

A survey put together by political analysis firm AtlasIntel shows that 63 percent of those polled disapprove of President Milei’s performance. That number has been rising over the past 10 consecutive months (with the exception of September 2025) and it’s surged 19 percentage points over that time. The graph illustrates the growing gap between those who still believe in the President and those who disapprove. The former ‘Teflon man’ has fallen in Atlas’ public perception ranking to fifth position, behind Senator Patricia Bullrich, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Buenos Aires Province Governor Kicillof and, surprisingly, left-wing lawmaker Myriam Bregman, who tops the list.

Argentina’s leftist parties have generally oscillated around a voting percentage in the single digits in most national elections over the past several years. It is difficult to imagine someone like Bregman – whose views of the economy align with hard-line socialism – being electorally competitive, yet the same thing could have been said about Milei a few years prior. AtlasIntel’s Sofia Benencio, interviewed on the Modo Fontevecchia show, explained that “society’s disillusionment, its feeling of a lack of representation” is positioning the left-winger as a counterpart to the President, much in the same way as the loudmouth economist captured discontent a few years ago. “Our approval and evaluation figures show people are disillusioned, even amongst those who voted for Javier Milei in the first and run-off votes,” Benencio said. “This decline in Milei’s approval figures contrasts with Myriam Bregman, who not only has strong positive figures, but is the only one with a positive differential.”

It’s not that Argentine society, who up until recently took up the banner of libertarianism, has turned Commie. Rather, Milei and Economy Minister Luis ‘Toto’ Caputo’s economic plan is failing to generate a generalised increase in welfare that improves the lot of the people, including its own voting base. Unemployment, inflation and a troubling economic situation have all risen as important issues affecting the population, according to the Atlas poll, while corruption remains at the top. Not only are people worried about their personal situation, but they are also witnessing the moral decrepitude of the ‘new’ political class, this time represented by the outsiders that supposedly came to “drain the swamp,” like Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni. Not to mention ‘Sister Karina,’ presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei, or the President’s former lawyer, Diego Spagnuolo, who is knee-deep in the corruption scandal at ANDIS national disability agency. And, of course, there’s $LIBRA, which directly affects Milei’s standing.

Milei sustained himself in public opinion by lowering inflation and ordering the macroeconomy. His anti-Kirchnerist and anti-system rhetoric helped the cause, as did his expertise and appeal on social media. Yet monthly inflation has been on the rise for 10 consecutive months, as measured by the INDEC national statistics bureau, while salaries have remained depressed. Many are beginning to have doubts about the prospects of the government’s economic plan, particularly as consumption has fallen off a cliff and GDP growth is carried by a few extractivist sectors that are not labour-intensive. Constant cases of corruption are eroding the public’s trust in the Milei administration’s intentions and capacity, particularly as cases like Adorni’s suggest amateurism, even when it comes to corruption.

The Atlas Intel poll indicates that 50.1 percent of those surveyed have or know someone who has more than one job, of which 61 percent need it to make ends meet by the end of the month, “para llegar a fin de mes.” Nearly 60 percent have cut back on consumption, of which 82.8 percent had to reduce the amount of food they buy. A third ramped up debt, 79.4 percent used their credit card, 48.2 percent took a short-term loan from a digital wallet, 46.3 percent indebted themselves with a bank and 33.4 percent asked relatives or friends for money. These figures are troubling for Milei, who blames the media, journalists, and economists for plotting to overthrow his government. Yet the reality indicates 71.2 percent have cut back on leisure activities and going out, 62.7 percent are buying less clothes and 48.5 percent are spending less on food. More than half those polled say their income isn’t enough to cover costs of living.

Milei’s response has been to go on the offensive against anyone who questions the economic trajectory. In behaviour typical of the political “caste,” the President blames the messenger and points at macroeconomic variables that tell him everything is going according to plan. He says he won’t budge and while he recognises things are getting a bit difficult, the situation will improve soon. As ‘Toto’ Caputo has repeated, once again, the worst is behind us and glory days are around the corner.

It is difficult to imagine that by sustaining a budget surplus – methodologically controversial – while restricting the money supply, the Milei-Caputo tandem will unlock economic growth that will spark a virtuous cycle that will result in rising wages. Given the prospects, the political ecosystem is beginning to try and take a stab at the Milei administration, with a fragmented field throwing its hat in the ring for the 2027 presidential elections. They’re a far way out and Milei appears positioned to reverse his sorrows and remain electorally competitive. But things could spiral out of control if the only response the head of state has is to blame journalism.