Voting closes and official counting begins in crucial presidential election in Argentina

Voting centers closed on Sunday in Argentina and the official count began in crucial presidential elections that could generate a change in the political cycle.

The far-right economist Javier Milei, from Libertad Avanza, leads most of the polls. He is closely followed by the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa, of the Peronist Union for the Homeland, and in third place is Patricia Bullrich, of the center-right coalition Together for Change.

Millions of Argentines voted in frustration over a context of inflation, insecurity and corruption that could lead them to give victory to Milei, 52, who has promised to end the problems and shake up the political system.

The ultra-liberal is a favorite with his speech against the traditional political class, which he calls a “caste” of privileged people, and he has been able to empathize with broad popular sectors that have had their purchasing power pulverized and who have witnessed constant scandals of corruption carried out by public officials.

If the economist with an aggressive speech prevails in the elections, he will relegate Peronism on the political stage, which has largely retained power in the last 20 years, and Together for Change, which governed between 2015 and 2019.

“We are in a position to be the best government in history,” declared Milei, after voting at an electoral college.

In the elections, 24 Senate seats and 130 national deputies will also be renewed and several mayors and governors will be elected, including that of the province of Buenos Aires, the most important district in the country.

Dozens of Argentines went to the polls early in a day marked by anxiety and uncertainty for the day after in a context in which annual inflation is close to 140%.

In recent days, appliance stores and supermarkets have received a greater influx of consumers who stocked up on products fearful of a devaluation of the peso against the dollar and a spike in prices. In some grocery stores in Buenos Aires, the beverage shelves looked empty on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.

Argentines vote in a difficult economic context that has led to 40.1% of the population of some 46 million inhabitants being mired in poverty.

Rising prices, insecurity and lack of economic predictability are at the top of concerns in opinion polls.

President Alberto Fernández, a Peronist leader who is not running for office, due to his poor image in opinion polls, gave up seeking re-election and vice president and former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015), who is facing different causes Due to alleged corruption, he did not run either.

Sabrina Rodríguez, a 36-year-old student, said that she hoped in these elections “a change of cycle” in the political leadership of the country.

I hope “that a project that puts democracy at risk does not win,” said Cristian Jacobsen, a 38-year-old professional, who said he voted for Massa.

Milei proposes a comprehensive reform of the State that includes a drastic cut in public spending and the privatization of public companies. To combat inflation he says that he will close the Central Bank because he considers it responsible for the unchecked monetary issue and free competition of currencies that culminates in a dollarization of the economy.C

The economist, who identifies with the far-right former presidents Donald Trump of the United States and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, proposes in his electoral platform “the deregulation of the legal market” for weapons “and protecting their legitimate and responsible use by citizens.” He defends that anyone who is in a position to request the possession of weapons can do so without being discouraged by the State itself, as he believes happens today in practice.

Massa, whom most polls place in second place, has said that he would definitively cancel the debt of some 44 billion dollars that the country took on in 2018 with the International Monetary Fund to remove the organization from the scene. He promised that he will achieve fiscal order and a trade surplus and will try to persuade the Peronist electorate to continue betting on the force that has implemented a vast network of social aid for the disadvantaged. He also warns that Milei’s policies hide a cut in basic rights.

Bullrich, who appears in third place in the polls, was optimistic on the day. She defends her experience in the area of ​​security after being minister of that portfolio between 2015 and 2019. She has tried to convince voters that, as a member of a party that exercises power in several provincial governorates and enjoys a large bloc parliamentary, is capable of carrying out economic reform to promote growth.

To win the elections, the candidate with the most votes must obtain at least 45% of the valid votes or 40% and a difference of 10 percentage points over the second most voted. Otherwise, the two formulas with the most votes will face each other in a runoff on November 19. Whoever is elected will assume power on December 10.