The night of election Sunday in Argentina had an unexpected voice from Washington. Scott BessentDonald Trump’s powerful economic advisor and current North American Secretary of the Treasury, published a message on the X network that was read in Buenos Aires as a direct political signal. “Congratulations to President Javier Milei for the successful midterm elections of La Libertad Avanza,” he wrote.
“President Milei has a renewed mandate for change,” Bessent wrote, celebrating the ruling party’s legislative victory. In a diplomatic tone, but with an ideological charge, Bessent added: “Argentina is a vital ally in Latin America. These results are a clear example that the Trump administration’s Peace through Economic Strength policy is working.”.
“Thank you very much Sott Bessent and your entire Treasury team. The support of the United States for this economic direction is of vital importance for Argentina, and also for the region. MAGA,” replied the Minister of Economy Luis “Toto” Caputo.
Milei and the endorsement of the north
In the political reading, Bessent’s message functions as an explicit recognition of the Argentine libertarian experiment and as a reaffirmation of the ideological harmony between Milei and Trump. In the Casa Rosada they celebrated it as “a sign of confidence for the markets,” while in the opposition they read it as direct interference by the North American Treasury in a local political process.
The official’s words come at a key moment: after the legislative victory, Milei consolidated its own majority with its provincial allies and seeks to face the second stage of its economic program. In Washington, the diagnosis is that “Argentina is heading towards stability based on fiscal discipline and openness to private investment.”
Bessent went further and projected optimism about the bilateral future: “We hope that steps will continue to be taken towards economic freedom that will attract private sector investments and job creators, bringing prosperity to the Argentine people,” he stated.
“Peace through Economic Strength”
The central phrase of the message—“Peace through Economic Strength”—was highlighted on international portals and replicated in memes that mixed Bessent with Guillermo Francella characters or with the aesthetics of Wall Street. The slogan, inspired by the “Peace through Strength” doctrine popularized by Ronald Reagan, summarizes Trump’s vision of economic geopolitics: that international stability is achieved through financial power.
In recent months, this idea has been translated into a hemispheric policy that seeks to consolidate strategic partners in Latin America under a scheme of direct economic cooperation with the US Treasury, avoiding the role of multilateral organizations. Argentina became the test case of this experiment, with the swap plan, technological investment agreements and openings of agricultural markets.
Memes and foreign policy
On the network, Bessent’s message unleashed a festival of images: the official recreated as Francella toasting with a fernet, Milei hugging a Wall Street bull, or the Trump-Milei duo on a background of one hundred dollar bills. The celebratory tone was mixed with irony, but also with a tacit recognition: libertarian foreign policy achieved an unprecedented level of visibility.
The ruling party highlighted that “no Argentine government had received such direct congratulations from a United States Treasury Secretary after a legislative election.” Libertarians took advantage of the gesture to reinforce the narrative of a “new axis of economic freedom” between Buenos Aires and Washington.
Renewed mandate
Bessent’s closing message condensed the climate of official euphoria: “Under the leadership of President Trump, the relationship between the United States and Argentina has never been stronger. Latin America is headed toward a bright economic future.”
In fact, the legislatures consolidated Milei as a dominant figure in Argentine politics and gave him room to move forward with his second “Bases Law,” scheduled for December. From Washington, the signal was clear: the Argentine experiment is now part of the Trump administration’s strategic map, and its results—economic and symbolic—will be closely watched by the entire continent.
by RN
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