Argentine Peronism has lost six of the last seven national elections, ending in a recent electoral blunder blamed on its growing distance from the people and roots in the past. In the recent legislative elections, La Libertad Avanza (LLA) secured a victory by channeling collective suffering into a narrative of redemption through sacrifice. The 34% voter abstention highlights emotional exhaustion in democracy.
The October 2025 legislative elections marked another defeat for Argentine Peronism, which has lost six of the last seven national contests. Analysts attribute this loss to Peronism being "further and further from the people and stuck in the past," questioning whether the single ballot is truly the issue as some claim.
La Libertad Avanza's (LLA) victory, led by Javier Milei, stems from its ability to turn everyday pain into a political narrative. Author Diego Lo Destro explains how LLA transformed suffering into a "test of character," promising that "you'll deserve it if you resist." This echoes Argentine sensibility, as in Roberto Goyeneche's lyrics: "First you have to know how to suffer, then love, then leave, and finally walk without thought."
The 34% voter abstention, with only 66% participating, signals a "draining of political passions," per Chantal Mouffe, where democracy feels like a routine without real impact. Lo Destro notes that "between fatigue and faith, the current political scenario was configured," recalling Edmund Burke: "for evil to triumph, it is enough for good men to do nothing." This disaffection is not mere apathy but withdrawal due to disbelief, contrasting with a mobilized minority around faith in neoliberal sacrifice, as described by Jessé Souza.
The challenge lies in repoliticizing passions to restore emancipatory power to collective desire, amid exhaustion and cynicism.