Javier Mileis image falls almost seven points amid scandals and discontent over economy

President Javier Milei’s approval rating dropped seven points between February and March, amid the political fallout from scandals involving Chief of staff Manuel Adorni and other government officials, as well as growing economic pessimism.  According to a survey by consulting firm Zentrix, in the past month nearly six out of ten Argentines considered the country’s situation to be bad. The poll showed that the president’s positive image went from 47% in February to 40.3% in March, while his negative image climbed to 51%, five points above the previous month. The drop means President Milei is no longer the most popular figure in the ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party: former Security minister Patricia Bullrich, currently a senator, ranked higher than the head of state in favorable ratings, with a 42.7% positive image and a 50.3% unfavorable perception, according to the study by Zentrix. The decline in the President’s approval rating coincides with a trend shown by most pollsters due to a double setback: on the one hand, the economy has not yet recovered and, on the other, the cases of alleged corruption linked to the cryptocurrency $Libra and the accusations against Adorni of unjustified wealth growth and the improper acquisition of properties. However, another recent poll by Opinaia showed that Mileis decline is not reflected in the electoral arena. According to a survey they released in March, the president would win by a comfortable 20-point margin if elections were held today. Worries over the economy One of the most sensitive pieces of data for the Casa Rosada (the Argentine presidential palace) from the Zentrix survey was the perception of the state of the economy: 59.7% of Argentines rated the country’s economic situation negatively in March, a jump of almost 13 points compared to 47% in February.  This figure solidified a trend of increased social discontent linked to financial hardship, as salaries drop below inflation and levels of unemployment and family debt grow. The survey also showed a decline in the overall evaluation of the Milei administration. Approval of the government fell to 38.5%, while disapproval rose to 53%. A month earlier, those numbers had been 45% positive and 44% negative, so March marked a shift towards a clearly unfavorable balance for the ruling party.