Despite a desolate economic situation, the minister responsible, Sergio Massa, prevailed in the presidential election. In the runoff election he now has to run against an ultra-liberal.
Government candidate Sergio Massa surprisingly won the first round of the presidential election in Argentina. The economics minister from the left-wing Unión por la Patria (Union for the Fatherland) received around 36 percent of the votes, as the electoral office announced after counting almost all votes. In second place with 30 percent was the libertarian populist Javier Milei from the party La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances), who was considered the favorite.
Former Interior Minister Patricia Bullrich from the conservative opposition alliance Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) only achieved just under 24 percent. Massa and Milei are therefore likely to compete against each other in a runoff election on November 19th. The future president takes office on December 10th.
“Argentina needs stability and predictability,” Massa wrote on the X platform, formerly Twitter, after casting his vote. Milei said: “We are capable of forming the best government in history.”
Milei describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist”
South America’s second largest economy is in a deep economic crisis: the inflation rate is 138 percent, and around 40 percent of the people in the once rich country live below the poverty line. Argentina suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of much tax revenue. The national currency, the peso, continues to lose value against the US dollar and the mountain of debt is constantly growing.
After his victory in the primaries, Milei was considered the favorite in the first round of voting. The self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” wants to introduce the US dollar as legal tender, abolish the central bank and many ministries and radically cut social spending. This is particularly well received by young people, who often only know life in constant crisis mode.
Massa, on the other hand, relied on the well-rehearsed campaign machine of the ruling Peronists and recently reached deep into the state coffers to keep voters happy. He ordered mass new hires in the public sector, approved higher income tax allowances and granted one-off payments for employees and pensioners.
Runoff race open again
Despite Massa’s victory in the first round, the race in the runoff election is completely open again. At least part of the conservative and market-liberal electorate of the losing candidate Bullrich could defect to Milei in the second round.
“This is a great triumph for us. The millions who voted for us have hope that there will be change,” said Milei’s candidate for vice president, Victoria Villarruel. “Sergio Massa stands for the old, we are the change.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
