Minister Sergio Massa Massa and ultraliberal Javier Milei will face each other in the second round

A centrist Minister of the Economy, Sergio Massa, and an ultraliberal “anarcho-capitalist”, Javier Milei, will face each other in the second round of the presidential election in Argentina. The candidate from the government bloc (center-left) came first in the first round with 36.6% of the votes, Sunday October 22, according to provisional results on more than 97% of the ballots counted. His rival, who hears “tronçonner” the State, for its part, received 30% of the votes.

This score confirms Javier Milei’s breakthrough since he burst onto the political scene two years ago, even if it is below what the polls predicted for him. Ex-polemicist on Argentine television, Javier Milei entered politics in 2021. Elected deputy in Buenos Aires, he quickly gained popularity thanks to his radical proposals and his common thread “dégagiste” against one “parasitic caste”. His proposals, like that of “dollarize” the economy to let the greenback supplant the peso, have sown doubt and even concern.

To be elected in the first round, a candidate had to obtain at least 45% of the votes, or 40% but with a 10% lead over the runner-up. The candidate of the opposition bloc (center-right) Patricia Bullrich, a former Minister of Security protected by former liberal President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), was eliminated, with 23.8%. Sergio Massa and Javier Milei will contest the second round on November 19, with a view to an inauguration on December 10.

Argentines voted in a climate of uncertainty and concern, as rarely since the return of democracy 40 years ago, against a backdrop of chronic debt, inflation among the highest in the world (138%), and a currency that has been in constant depreciation for two years. Sergio Massa promised if he is elected to convene “a government of national unity”which would be a first in democratic Argentina and appealed “to all those who share our democratic values”.