The 2023 Campaign

From 30% in the primaries to 55.65% in the runoff — the campaign that broke Argentine politics.

The setup

Argentina entered 2023 with annual inflation above 100% and rising, a Peronist government widely blamed for it, and a conventional center-right opposition (Juntos por el Cambio) that had failed in office from 2015–2019. Milei, a first-term deputy with no mayors and no governors, offered the simplest pitch in the race: everything the state touches, he would cut — ministries (“afuera”), spending (the chainsaw), the peso itself (dollarization).

The PASO shock — 13 August 2023

In the mandatory open primaries, Milei won ~29.9% — the largest single force, ahead of both established coalitions. Pollsters had missed him badly. The result crashed the peso and made the previously unthinkable — a libertarian presidency — the base case.

The general — 22 October 2023

Milei took 29.99% to Economy Minister Sergio Massa’s 36.78%. The Peronist machine had mobilized; the runoff would decide. Third-place Patricia Bullrich (23.8%) endorsed Milei within days, splitting her coalition — Mauricio Macri backed the deal, the Radical wing revolted.

The runoff — 19 November 2023

Milei defeated Massa 55.65% to 44.35%, the widest margin since the return of democracy in 1983. He won nationally, including in provinces Peronism had held for generations. His victory speech, before a euphoric crowd, closed with “¡Viva la libertad, carajo!”

Why he won

Analysts across the spectrum agree on the ingredients, differing only on emphasis:

• Inflation. At 211% annually by December 2023 (INDEC), voters experienced the economy as an emergency — and emergencies favor radicals.
• Anti-caste fury. “La casta” gave a name to contempt for a political class seen as self-dealing through decades of crisis.
• Youth and first-time voters. Milei dominated among the young, who had no memory of pre-crisis Argentina and no loyalty to its parties.
• The Massa problem. His opponent was the sitting economy minister during hyperinflation-adjacent crisis — a nearly impossible sell.

The symbols

The campaign’s iconography — the chainsaw, the lion, the crossed-out ministries, the “afuera” whiteboard videos — was built for phones, not plazas. Milei’s team, led by strategist Santiago Caputo, ran one of the most digitally native campaigns in Latin American history.

Source notes

• Official results: Cámara Nacional Electoral, via Reuters/AP, August–November 2023.
• Campaign analysis: Argentine press (La Nación, Clarín, Infobae) and international coverage (AP, Reuters, The Economist).