Argentina formalises US$20 billion lifeline from Trump as Milei faces poll test

Argentina on Monday formalised a currency swap agreement with the United States for up to US$20 billion aimed “at contributing to Argentina’s economic stability,” the South American country’s central bank said.

The deal is part of huge financial support from the administration of Donald Trump, a strong backer of Argentine President Javier Milei, who is under pressure ahead of midterm elections on October 26.

The peso has been fluctuating wildly ahead of the vote, disrupting the savings and spending plans of Argentines, who fear it could lose even more value in the coming weeks.

As well as the swap line, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week announced efforts to secure a separate US$20 billion facility from “private banks and sovereign wealth funds” to support Argentina’s embattled economy.

Milei, once a global poster boy for budget-slashing libertarian politics, is heading into the polls diminished by his failure to stabilise the ailing peso, despite spending nearly all the Central Bank’s dollar reserves to prop it up.

Inflation, which Milei had initially managed to stem after taking office in December 2023, has been rising again month-on-month.