Economy Minister Sergio Massa produced a big surprise by finishing first in the opening round of Argentina’s presidential election, reflecting voters’ wariness about handing the presidency to his chief rival, a right-wing populist who upended national politics and pledged to drastically diminish the state.
Sergio’s victory over Javier Milei, a chainsaw-wielding economist and freshman lawmaker, came despite the fact that on his watch inflation has surged into triple digits, eating away at the purchasing power of salaries and boosting poverty. Still, he wasn’t punished in Sunday’s voting.
With nearly all ballots counted early Monday, Massa had 36.7% of the vote and Milei had 30%, meaning the two will go to a Nov. 19 runoff.
Most pre-election polls, which have been notoriously unreliable, had given Milei a slight lead over Sergio. Former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, of the main center-right opposition coalition, got 23.8% to finish third in the field of five candidates.
Milei, the anti-abortion economist, who wants to abolish the state wins election in Argentina
Write a Reply or Comment
You should Sign In or Sign Up account to post comment.