In recent months, Javier Milei has once again confronted— as he has so many times before— the entire Argentine political establishment. But this time, the clash goes beyond traditional parties: the President is waging a frontal battle against the entire apparatus of the old regime, made up of partisan media outlets, rent-seeking businessmen, entrenched union leaders, and influential figures who depend on state privileges to survive.
As if it were Game of Thrones, the entire system seems inflamed against the Argentine president, who seeks, in the upcoming midterm elections, to win more congressional seats aligned with the ideas of liberty, in order to advance a second wave of structural reforms necessary to solidify his government’s change of course.
The resistance of the Argentine political class, far from being surprising, only confirms that the reforms are heading in the right direction.
The Caste’s Fear
Kirchnerism looks utterly desperate at the prospect of losing its power to block the reforms the country needs to abandon the model of poverty, control, and decay that it represents. But they are not alone: behind this resistance hides a multitude of actors who live off the privileges of the old system.
Like parasites clinging to their host, these groups fight to avoid being torn from the body of the State.
They are joined by certain sectors that call themselves “centrist,” although their behavior in Congress, their proposals, and their political practices reveal that they are not as far from Kirchnerism as they pretend to be. The difference, perhaps, lies in manners, not substance. As Milei himself has repeatedly pointed out, “politeness doesn’t change ideas.”
Behind their calls for “dialogue” and “consensus,” these sectors conceal a maneuver to stall reforms and force the government to abandon its economic program. In short, they seek to halt change— disguising their resistance behind a false narrative of moderation.
The Lies of the Narrative
The clearest example of this political and media manipulation was the case of audits on disability pensions.
The national government launched a review to verify whether those receiving benefits were genuinely eligible. The numbers were alarming: tens of thousands of cases showed irregularities.
The audits uncovered fake disability claims, with individuals defrauding the State— and, by extension, the truly disabled and the taxpayers.
Instead of celebrating the cleanup of the system, the so-called “centrist” parties and the media aligned with the caste distorted the facts, spreading the notion that the government was “cutting support to the disabled.”
Milei denied those accusations, explaining that by purging the registry, resources were freed to increase legitimate benefits— without breaking the fiscal surplus or raising taxes— making the system fairer and more sustainable.
Media Operations and Structural Corruption
But that was not the only case. Weeks later, the same outlets and political figures launched a campaign claiming the government was “defunding” the country’s main children’s hospital, alleging salary cuts for doctors and nurses.
Once again, it turned out to be a media operation.
During the review of contracts, the Ministry uncovered a network of multimillion-peso irregularities in the supply of goods and services, involving unions and vendors tied to the old power structure.
It was, as so often happens in Argentina, a web of corruption disguised as a “defense of public health.”
Similar cases are found in public universities, many of which still refuse to be audited or to disclose how they use the funds they demand from the State.
The rhetoric of “university autonomy” serves as a shield to conceal misappropriation, phantom hires, and opaque spending. Their refusal to be audited is, in itself, proof that Milei’s drive for change unsettles them.
Justice and the Double Standard
Despite the progress made, the libertarian government faces a judiciary acting with unusual speed and zeal.
Decrees and reforms are blocked within hours— something that never happened under previous administrations, when judges often looked the other way.
Milei, true to his respect for the separation of powers, avoids direct confrontation with the judiciary. However, he never fails to point out the evident asymmetry and selectivity with which the judicial branch operates.
For decades, the discretionary measures of Peronist or Kirchnerist governments went unchallenged. Today, by contrast, every presidential decision is scrutinized under a microscope— as if the entire system had been activated to prevent a president outside the traditional political order from governing.