Liberal candidate Javier Mele pulled off a big surprise in Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, taking around 56% of the vote, according to partial official results reported by Agence France-Presse.
His rival, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, got about 44% after counting 86% of the votes, and acknowledged his defeat, saying he had called Milley to congratulate him.
Argentine voters went to the polls on Sunday to cast their votes in the heated presidential elections, trying to find a solution to the problem of inflation, which has reached a rate of three numbers, in addition to the high rate of poverty and conflicting visions about the country’s future.
In these elections, the Minister of Economy Massa and the liberal Milli, considered the most likely candidate in the opinion polls conducted before the elections, presented themselves.
Milley, 53, is an economist who calls himself an “anarcho-capitalist.” He stirs up controversy in his television appearances and entered the political arena two years ago.
Milley is committed to finding a solution to the economic crisis that the country is witnessing, starting with the closure of the central bank, the elimination of the local currency (the peso), thedollarization of the economy, the reduction of spending, the elimination of the “parasitic class”. and “hostile state pruning,” which was welcomed by voters despite the difficulty of these measures.
Since many Argentines are not convinced by either candidate, some have described the vote as choosing the “lesser of two evils,” between fear of the painful economic solutions proposed by Milley and the anger some feel towards Massa because of the economic crisis.
Many Argentines have said they will not participate in the run-off.
Regardless of who wins the election, there will be a change in Argentina’s political landscape, its economic roadmap, trade in grains, lithium and hydrocarbons, and Argentina’s relations with partners including China, the United States and Brazil.
Inflation, at one of the highest rates in the world (143% in one year), poverty which affects 40% of the population despite social assistance programmes, insoluble debts and the decline in the value of the currency, determine the characteristics of the cycle vote that Argentines hope will get them out of the economic crisis.
Plans to revive Latin America’s third-largest economy appear very conflicting.
The country is witnessing an increase in prices from month to month, and even from week to week, while wages, including minimum wages, have fallen to 146,000 pesos ($400).
Rents have reached levels that are beyond the reach of many, and housewives are resorting to bartering to get what they need, similar to what happened after the severe economic crisis of 2001.
A study conducted by the University of Buenos Aires earlier this year showed that 68% of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 are ready to immigrate if given the opportunity.