2023-11-19 19:40:02
Argentina votes in the second round this Sunday, November 19, 2023 to elect a new president. The libertarian Javier Milei and the Minister of Economy, the Peronist Sergio Massa, voted in a close presidential contest that takes place in the midst of a serious economic crisis that keeps Argentines “between terror and suspense.” Milei voted after noon in Buenos Aires, in the middle of a security operation due to the crowd that was waiting for him and who sang “the caste is afraid,” the libertarian’s anthem against the political class. “Let’s hope that the numbers are so clear that tonight we have an elected president,” said the La Libertad Avanza candidate.
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The voting centers opened at 08:00 local time (11:00 GMT) for a day that will last until 18:00 local time (21:00 GMT). There are 35.8 million registered voters.
The polls predict a technical tie between the two candidates, with a significant sector that will vote without conviction or directly blank.
The candidate for the Presidency of Argentina of La Libertad Avanza, Javier Milei votes in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (EFE/ Juan Ignacio Roncoroni).
Milei also said he was “very calm” despite “the campaign of fear” carried out by his adversary.
For his part, Massa went to vote shortly before in the town of Tigre, his stronghold north of Buenos Aires, where he took photos with supporters under an intense sun.
“Let’s wait for the result calmly, with hope and above all with optimism that the future of Argentina finds us better and more united,” he said after casting his vote, saying that he would go to eat “a barbecue” in the afternoon.
The presidential candidate of the Union for the Homeland party, Sergio Massa, addresses the press after casting his vote in Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Alejandro PAGNI / AFP).
/ ALEJANDRO PAGNI
He also called for “temperance” in moments “like this, which are such a turning point for the country.”
With annualized inflation of 143% and poverty that affects 40% of the population, Argentina is going through its worst economic situation in the last two decades.
Milei, unrelated to politics until he was elected deputy in 2021, presents himself as a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist. He has promised to eliminate the Central Bank and dollarize the economy to end monetary issuance and inflation.
LOOK: Santiago Rodríguez on the debate in Argentina: “Massa was more professional and prepared than Milei in this format”
In the first round on October 22, Massa got 37% of the votes and Milei 30%. For the runoff, the far-right obtained the support of former president Mauricio Macri and Patricia Bullrich, of the center-right coalition Together for Change (24%).
Javier Milei speaks during the closing of his electoral campaign in Córdoba, Argentina, on November 16, 2023. (Photo by DIEGO LIMA/AFP).
/ DIEGO LIMA
Sergio Massa leaves the Carlos Pellegrini Higher School of Commerce after meeting with students as part of his latest campaign activities. (EFE/ Enrique García Medina).
/ Enrique García Medina
Undecided
For this second round, the polls predict a technical tie, and the two candidates try until the last minute to attract the undecided, crucial for victory.
Inflation in Argentina. (AFP).
“Whoever is angry and anti-Peronist will vote for Milei,” said political scientist Diego Reynoso, from the University of San Andrés. However, “there are people who are not Peronists, who are not angry, but who feel that this government has done very badly and have many doubts about supporting Massa,” he noted.
Milei, a 53-year-old economist, closed his campaign on Thursday with a passionate event in Córdoba before tens of thousands of followers, according to the police, who filled the streets of this anti-Kirchnerist bastion. Shouting “Freedom, Freedom!” They hailed his idol with tousled hair and a leather jacket with a rock star look, which he sang again from the podium before giving his speech.
Massa chose instead to meet with a group of young people at the Carlos Pellegrini school in Buenos Aires, in an event without fanfare, more in line with the serene style cultivated by this 51-year-old lawyer, a seasoned politician who in recent decades has gone through by various governments, party stores and electoral struggles.
A man walks past Sergio Massa’s political propaganda in Buenos Aires on November 15, 2023. (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO / AFP).
/ LUIS ROBAYO
Polarization
The campaign oscillated between feelings of anger towards the traditional politics that Massa represents and fear at the disruptive approaches of Milei, who has been in favor of the free sale of weapons and even declared that the offer of human organs can constitute “one more market.”
“It will be a vote-by-vote election,” said Zubán.
Third economy in Latin America, Argentine society has historically been proud of its extensive middle class. But the economy has not grown for more than a decade, and instead poverty has increased to reach more than 40% of the population.
Poverty in Argentina. (AFP).
Argentina is indebted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through a credit program for 44 billion dollars that requires a significant reduction in the fiscal deficit.
In this decline, Milei’s speech against what he calls “the chorra (thief) political caste” achieved a greater echo than imagined.
“I am concerned about the policies that the current government is implementing. They are not seeing the country or the people. I voted for Milei and I am going to vote for him again. The only thing politicians do is look at their pockets,” said Alejandro Santacruz, a 49-year-old butcher.
A supporter of Javier Milei dressed in a costume of the television character Zorro, shouts slogans during a campaign rally in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires province, on November 15, 2023. (Photo by Luis ROBAYO/AFP).
/ LUIS ROBAYO
Fraud ghost
In recent weeks, La Libertad Avanza, Milei’s party, has denounced an alleged fraud attempt, something unprecedented in Argentina.
Thus, on Sunday he refrained from sending all his party’s ballots to the electoral centers, claiming that he does not trust the custody mechanism.
Although experts consider that the electoral system is solid and in democracy no election has ever been contested, Zubán warns that the idea of fraud “has permeated a sector of the population.”
“It is a well-known resource of the radical right to denounce fraud before the vote. Former presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump did it. “There is an attempt to delegitimize the election if the other party wins,” said the political consultant.
For this election, which requires mandatory attendance, 35.8 million people are registered on the registry. Some 86,000 military and police officers are in charge of guarding the process.
Voting centers will open from 8 am local time until 6:00 pm. If there are still people waiting to vote at closing time, they will be allowed to do so until there is no one else in line.
The Government reported that the first partial results will be announced at 9:00 p.m. on the website resultados.gob.ar.
The new president must take office on December 10 for a period of four years.
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