Argentina's Milei opens Congress praising Trump and attacking opposition

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei opened Congress on Sunday with a fiery speech highlighting his government’s achievements, lambasting the opposition, and praising his relationship with American President Donald Trump.

His 90-minute speech, was marked by shouting at opposition lawmakers, who he described as “thieves,” “murderers” and “ignorant," while highlighting what he described as his government’s key achievements over the past year.

Milei delivered the speech after a series of legislative victories, including labor reform, lowering the age of criminal responsibility, the Mercosur-European Union trade agreement and initial approval of a glacier protection law.

“This has been one of the most productive extraordinary sessions in our history, fulfilling all the campaign promises made in 2025,” Milei said.

Some of Milei’s main points included Argentina’s potential for exporting raw materials and energy, as well as its strategic location. He also emphasized the need to maintain alignment with the United States, highlighting the success of the financial aid provided by Washington last year and alluding to the “special relationship” he has with Trump, whom he defined as a “key ally.”

Milei added that “we have to create the century of the Americas. Make America Great Again.”

He also argued that Argentina possesses the critical minerals demanded by the West and underscored the country’s strategic location, with access to two oceans and proximity to Antarctica. “We are a natural link in the West’s strategic value chain,” he asserted.

However, throughout the speech, Milei repeatedly clashed with opposition lawmakers, calling them corrupt and thieves, and also took aim at former leftist President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is imprisoned on corruption charges.

Milei faced a friendlier Congress

On Friday, Milei scored a crucial victory in Congress after the approval of a labor reform bill that will radically alter the job market and which was opposed by left-wing parties and the country’s main labor union.

Milei appears much stronger on the legislative front, Juan Negri, director of the Political Science program at Torcuato Di Tella University, told The Associated Press.

“We find him with significant support and, through his allies, with a parliamentary majority that seemed unprecedented in 2023,” he said

Milei assumed the presidency in 2023 with an opposition that promised to resist the liberal reforms promoted by his party La Libertad Avanza, which at the time was only the third-largest bloc in both houses of Congress. During the first months of his term, the president had strong clashes with the Legislative Branch, which he called a “rat’s nest” for obstructing his initiatives.

In the 2025 legislative elections, La Libertad Avanza, in alliance with the right-wing Republican Proposal, or PRO, party, consolidated its position as the largest bloc in both chambers and secured the one-third needed to uphold presidential vetoes in Congress.

The government also consolidated the support of allies who were previously more reserved or even critical, including some members of PRO, “who are now perfectly aligned with the ruling party,” said Gustavo Marangoni, a political scientist from Buenos Aires and director of the economics, finance, and public opinion consulting firm M & R Asociados.

Milei also benefited from several provincial governors who, regardless of their political affiliation, recognized the advantages of negotiating with the national government, Marangoni explained.