President Javier Milei’s approval rating in Argentina fell to 36.4 percent in March 2026, its lowest level since he took office, as unemployment rose and corruption allegations continued to hang over his government. The decline came alongside a five-point drop from February 2026, while his disapproval rating climbed six percentage points to nearly 62 percent. **The Numbers Behind the Discontent** The findings come from the LatAm Pulse survey, conducted by AtlasIntel for Bloomberg News, which polled 5,037 people in Argentina between March 20-24, 2026, with a 95 percent confidence level and a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point. Milei, leader of La Libertad Avanza, also trailed behind Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof in public image for the first time in March 2026, with Kicillof holding a positive image of 38 percent compared to Milei’s 37 percent. Kicillof, a potential presidential candidate for the opposition Peronist party next year, saw his party win a provincial vote in September 2025, which led to a market sell-off and spurred a US$20-billion currency swap line for Argentina from the Trump administration. Milei’s party subsequently won the national midterm race in October 2025, including in Buenos Aires Province. The electoral carousel keeps spinning, but the structure underneath remains the same: competing managers, same pressure on everyone else. **What People Said Was Going Wrong** The decline in Milei’s approval rating is attributed to corruption allegations within his government, rising unemployment, and public dissatisfaction with a trade deal solidified in February 2026 with the Donald Trump administration. Unemployment in Argentina climbed to 7.5 percent at the end of 2025, the highest fourth-quarter rate since the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents described the labor market as “bad,” and 65 percent viewed the economy negatively. Corruption was the top concern for Argentines, followed by unemployment and inflation. Monthly inflation, which Milei had aimed to keep below one percent this year, remained closer to three percent and has not cooled since June 2025. While an improvement from the crisis Milei inherited, the economic recovery has lost momentum. The trade agreement with the U.S. saw its support drop to 41 percent in March 2026, down from nearly 60 percent in a January 2025 poll when it was under negotiation. Argentines anticipate the pact will likely result in factory and small business closures. That is the reform trap in plain sight: a deal sold as progress, then measured by the closures people expect it to bring. A cryptocurrency scandal from February 2025 resurfaced, and Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni faced scrutiny two weeks ago, around March 12, 2026, regarding his wife’s travel on the presidential plane and his use of a private jet for a family vacation. Other regional leaders, including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, and Chile’s new President José Antonio Kast, also experienced dips in their approval ratings. Kast is facing backlash over his decision to hike fuel prices. President Javier Milei delivered his annual speech to parliament on March 1, 2026. The polling shows a government losing ground while unemployment rises, inflation stays high, and the public is left to live with the consequences of decisions made in the name of order, reform, and market discipline.
