Argentina votes in elections marked by the emergence of the anti-system Milei

SlabArgentines They vote this Sunday in a presidential election marked by the emergence of the far-right and anti-establishment candidate Javier Milei, who has shaken the political board of a country immersed in an economic crisis that seems endless, with inflation of almost 140%.

Milei, favorite in the polls, is opposed by the Minister of Economy, the Peronist Sergio Massa, and the conservative Patricia Bullrich.

At 5:00 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT), one hour before the polls closed, 66% of the electoral roll, 35.8 million people, had voted, according to the National Electoral Chamber.

Wearing his traditional leather jacket, Milei went to vote after noon. A crowd greeted him by throwing flowers and singing happy birthday to him, in the midst of an agitation that made it difficult for him to enter and exit the electoral center.

“We are prepared to create the best government in history,” declared the La Libertad Avanza candidate, who turned 53 this Sunday.

Boris Morán, a 34-year-old lawyer, told AFP that Milei is a “different option, even though many say it is a leap into the void; At least she says what she is going to do and is against something that we protested all our lives and never changed.”

– Consolidate democracy –

In a calmer atmosphere, Massa voted in the town of Tigre, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

“Today is a day that forces us to work thinking about the consolidation of 40 years of democracy,” said the candidate of the Unión por la Patria coalition (center-left Peronism) at the doors of the electoral center.

Bullrich, a former Security Minister and candidate for the center-right alliance Together for Change, later voted surrounded by supporters. “The objective is not only to be in the runoff but to win the election,” she told reporters.

With inflation skyrocketing to almost 140% in twelve months and poverty increasing to more than 40% of the population, voters arrive exhausted at the election in which for the first time in decades there are three competitive candidates, instead of two major candidates. opposing political forces.

Catalina Escudero, a 36-year-old teacher at a voting center, said she has no hope for a “magical change.”

“But I do hope that whoever wins understands that there are 45 million people in the boat and that you cannot do crazy things without measuring the consequences,” he continued.

– Disruptive force –

Active in politics only since 2021, when he was elected deputy, Milei is the favorite in the polls after having surprised as the candidate with the most votes in the August primaries.

“The force that emerges as a disruptor is the one that came first in the primaries and the one that has the greatest capacity for growth,” Paola Zubán, director of the consulting firm Zubán, Córdoba y Asociados, explained to AFP.

To win this Sunday, 45% of the votes are required, or 40% and a difference of 10 points with respect to the second place.

Juan Negri, political scientist at the Torcuato di Tella University, pointed out that society is experiencing “a moment of great frustration” and is going through a “time of anti-politics.”

Alleged complaints of fraud from Milei supporters are circulating on social networks, indicating a lack of ballots at voting centers, or that ballots are being destroyed by voters of other candidates. Similar claims were made in the August primary.

– Against the status quo –

Milei proposes dollarizing the economy, “dynamiting” the Central Bank, drastically reducing public spending, eliminating the Ministry of Women and repealing the abortion law, among other proposals.

It is difficult for their rivals to attract new voters, dragging the bad image of the previous governments they formed: Bullrich, that of Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), and Massa, that of Alberto Fernández (2019-2023).

Third economy in Latin America, Argentine society has historically been proud of its extensive middle class, but in the last decade the trend changed and the poverty rate in the country has increased to 40% of the population.

With an economy stagnant for more than ten years, Argentina committed to the International Monetary Fund in 2018 through a loan of $44 billion that requires a significant reduction in the fiscal deficit.

In addition to the presidency, Argentines elect this Sunday half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the Senate. Polls predict that no force will retain the parliamentary majority.

The new president must take office on December 10 for four years.