Far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei gets 32.31% of the vote in the primaries for Argentina’s presidential election and becomes the protagonist in this election that will contest former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Economy Minister Sergio Massa.

The opposition coalition Together for Change (center right) won 27.64% of the vote, the sum of its two candidates Bullrich and Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta. The official Unión por la Patria (Peronism), from Massa, has 25.69%, with 64.04% of the polling stations.

After years immersed in polarization, which they called “crack”, these elections will be the first for Argentines without former presidents Cristina Kirchner and Mauricio Macri, patrons of the ruling party and opposition.

In the city of Buenos Aires, where electronic voting was used, technical difficulties delayed the process, allowing the time table to be extended to 7:30 pm local time (10:30 pm GMT) at the tables where people were queuing.

More to the right

As a new phenomenon appears the libertarian and far-right Javier Milei, a 52-year-old economist who intends to establish himself as the third national force with an aggressive discourse against what he calls the “political caste.”

In the 2021 parliamentary election, his first election, Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party was the third party with the most votes in the city of Buenos Aires, with 17%.

Milei “is a reflection of the disenchantment that has led many voters to disbelieve in political parties,” said Juan Negri, a professor of political science at the University of Torcuato di Tella.

“After the failure of Mauricio Macri’s government (2015-2019), many have turned to the more radical right,” said Negri.

The crisis

Although they have almost always lived in an economy in crisis, the Argentines are currently suffering from the worst indicators in 30 years: annual inflation is 115%, one of the highest in the world, poverty reaches 40% of the population over 45 million people and the local currency, the peso, is devaluing faster and faster against the dollar (17% in the past month).

Argentina is the third largest economy in Latin America and a major exporter of food in the world. At the same time, it must abide by a $44 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

“Argentina has been in economic downturn for more than 10 years, in a crisis that is slowly getting worse. There is growing dissatisfaction among voters in a country with a clear political identity. This year’s elections are important because of voters’ need for change, but also because of politicians’ need to change,” Negri said.

In these elections, the candidates are also chosen for the partial parliamentary elections that renew part of the Congress, for the mayorship of the capital and for the governorship of the province of Buenos Aires.