Argentina, Massa And Milei Heading For Second Round

The name of the next president of Argentina will be determined in the second round of elections. In the elections of October 22, the Peronist candidate Sergio Massa received 36.7% of the votes, and the “ultra-liberal” Javier Milei got 30%: both will compete in the second round scheduled for November 19, with Patricia Bullrich, third, leaving the stage on 23.8% of the votes.

25.9 million people, which is 74% of eligible voters, the lowest since Argentina returned to free elections (down 7 points from the 2019 presidential election), went to the polls in Argentina to elect successor of Alberto Fernandez, following an election campaign driven by the economic crisis and triple-digit inflation.

“As President, I will ask for a government of national unity by bringing together the best, regardless of their political party. This is a great country, and together we will put it in the place it deserves,” Sergio Massa said after the first round, according to the Spanish newspaper El País. Massa also listed the “pillars” of his future policies: strong industry, better public education, and a modern and technological labor market, without giving up rights.

Milei reacted with the same aggressiveness that characterized his entire election campaign and launched a possible alliance ahead of the second round. “It was a historic day. Two-thirds of Argentines voted for change, an alternative to this government of criminals who want to mortgage our future. The election campaign has brought many of us who want change into conflict, so I have come to put an end to this process of aggression and attacks. And I am ready to destroy, reshuffle, and build again to put an end to Kirchnerism,” he explained to the newspaper El País, having formed an alliance with Juntos por el Cambio, the party of Patricia Bullrich. “All of us who want change must work together.”

Whoever wins on November 19 will face an economy literally collapsing: inflation is running at triple digits, a recession is looming, central bank reserves are empty, and the International Monetary Fund’s $44 billion bailout program is increasingly fragile.