The current Economy Minister, Sergio Massa, and libertarian economist Javier Milei, will compete for Argentina’s presidency in the second round on November 19.
With 80% of the votes counted in Sunday’s first round, Massa obtained 36.05% of the vote, followed by Milei with 30.39% and in third place with 23.6% of the vote. Patricia Bullrichwho was eliminated from the presidential race.
To avoid a runoff, the winner of the election must obtain more than 45% of the vote or 40% and a margin of at least ten percentage points compared to the second election, a percentage that is unlikely to be achieved by any candidate.
Official Massa, the Peronist candidate, provided a surprise by coming out on top with the most votes, garnering votes from the center-left and will compete for the presidency without appearing to burden him with responsibility for a country’s economy. which has inflation of almost 140%.
His rival was the ultra-liberal Milei, who proposed radical measures such as dollarizing the economy and ending the Central Bank.
Bullrich came in third after experiencing a split in the center-right vote and a greater preference among those voters for Milei.
The future president must face an economy that is in critical condition: inflation reaches 138% per year, poverty reaches 40% and the Central Bank’s coffers are empty.
In addition, the country has to face a debt of US$44 billion contracted in 2018 with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
That Massa got the most votes in the first round was considered a surprise considering the state of the country’s economy since “outsider” Milei had been the favorite after winning the primary in August.
Massa took over the economic portfolio last year amid a financial storm he was unable to calm.
He proposed reducing the fiscal deficit to protect the peso, while trying to maintain the state intervention model of his center-left coalition, Unión por la Patria.
Milei, for his part, proposed dollarizing the economy, describing the national currency as “shit,” deepening the country’s financial turmoil in recent weeks.
The election is seen as “the most disruptive, producing the strongest changes since at least 1946,” Argentinian political analyst Rosendo Fraga told BBC Mundo.
This election is different from previous elections because this time there are not two but three presidential candidates who have the opportunity to be elected or advance to the second round.
The second round will once again mark a choice between Peronism, led by Massa, and the anti-Peronism that economist Milei will now champion.
The anarcho-capitalists now hope to rely on Bullrich’s vote to win on November 19.
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