Milei presses Libertad Avanza in Misiones

That makes the trip more than a campaign-style stop. Milei closed the 47th annual convention of the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives in Puerto Iguazú, then held a separate, tightly controlled meeting with about 800 libertarian activists in another hotel 600 meters away. The format underscored both the government’s ambition to consolidate local cadres and the political risk: the president had to sidestep a protest by yerba mate producers demanding that the state set a minimum price for raw leaf and reassert regulation over the sector.

For investors, the message is that Milei is still betting political capital on his deregulation agenda even in regions where that agenda is unpopular. Economy Minister Luis Caputo and deregulation chief Federico Sturzenegger were on hand at the IAEF gathering, where Sturzenegger rejected producer demands and said exports are the main growth path for yerba. That keeps the policy line consistent: lower state intervention, more export-led growth, and no return to administered prices.

The optics matter because local resistance has not disappeared, even as the government tries to widen its coalition among business leaders, governors and provincial voters. Passalacqua, who shared the front row with fellow governors, applauded Milei at points during the speech, but the president had no formal contact with him. The contrast between elite accommodation inside the venue and tractors, flags and anti-Milei slogans outside captures the challenge for the administration: extending its national story into the provinces without triggering the social backlash that can stall it.

With Milei seeking to convert macro stabilization and deregulation into a broader political brand, the next test is whether LLA can keep building territorial muscle in Misiones and similar provinces while holding the line on contentious pricing disputes in agriculture and other protected sectors.