tl;dr
A recent survey conducted by Zuban Córdoba revealed a significant decline in public trust in Argentine President Javier Milei following his involvement in the LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal. 57.6% of respondents expressed distrust in the libertarian leader. This erosion of confidence reflects a growin...
A recent survey conducted by Zuban Cordoba revealed a significant decline in public trust in Argentine President Javier Milei following his involvement in the LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal. 57.6% of respondents expressed distrust in the libertarian leader. This erosion of confidence reflects a growing disillusionment with the government, with negative perceptions deepening each month. Only 36% of respondents expressed trust in Milei, while 6.4% remained undecided.
Additionally, 58.5% of respondents held a negative perception of Milei, impacting public approval of his administration. Despite the scandal's impact on his credibility, Milei's La Libertad Avanza party continues to lead in election polls.
Zuban Cordoba conducted the survey between March 12 and 14. It included responses from 1,600 respondents, with a confidence level of 95% and a 2.4% margin of error. The findings indicated a growing disillusionment with the government, and negative perceptions appeared to deepen each month.
The results marked a significant blow to Milei's credibility. His overall image has also suffered, with 58.5% of respondents holding a negative perception of him. In comparison, 41.1% retain a favorable opinion. Public approval of his administration mirrored this sentiment, with 58.4% disapproving of his management while 41.6% continue to support him.
For context, the LIBRA scandal erupted on February 14 when Milei promoted the newly launched cryptocurrency in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter). Within hours, the token's value soared to a market capitalization of over $4 billion, only to crash by more than 95% as early investors, including alleged insiders, cashed out. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen reported that insiders and bots earned $180 million in profits. Meanwhile, 86% of LIBRA investors suffered losses of $251 million.
The fallout left thousands of investors, many of them Milei's own supporters, reeling from financial devastation. Milei swiftly distanced himself from the project, claiming that he merely spread the word about LIBRA and did not intend to endorse it. However, his explanation did little to quell public outrage or legal scrutiny. In fact, many criminal complaints were filed against Milei and associated parties in the aftermath of the event. Argentine authorities also launched a federal investigation into the president's involvement.
Despite the damage to his reputation, Milei's La Libertad Avanza party continues to lead in election polls ahead of the October 26 vote. The party has secured 36.7% support, compared to 32.5% for the opposition coalition Union por la Patria. This shows that while the scandal has hurt Milei's image, it has not completely dismantled his political movement.