In an almost testimonial way, he was challenged by Juan Grabois, a leader of the social movements close to Pope Francis who intends to reflect the left wing of Peronism.
In the opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio (center-right) a real struggle is taking place between the mayor of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta (57 years old), and the former Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich (67), two figures between moderation and the intransigence that throughout the campaign have exalted their differences.
“It is an open-ended election and that result will define the new electoral scenario. Rodríguez Larreta attracts a non-politicized voter, Patricia Bullrich is the opposite,” political scientist Carlos Fara told AFP.
After years immersed in polarization, which they baptized “crack”, for Argentines this election will be the first without former presidents Cristina Kirchner and Mauricio Macri, tutelary figures of the ruling party and the opposition.
The day began at 08:00 local (11:00 GMT) until 18:00 (21:00 GMT), when the polling stations closed. Until 20:00 GMT, 61.5% of the more than 35 million citizens eligible to vote had voted.
In the city of Buenos Aires, where electronic voting was used, technical problems delayed the process, which allowed the timetable to be extended until 7:30 p.m. local (22:30 GMT) at those tables where there were people in line.
More to the right
As a novel 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.”
Facundo Cardozo, a 27-year-old sales executive, thinks that things are going so badly that Milei’s proposal is the best. “You have to break what is assembled and then put the pieces together again and start over,” he declared after voting.
In the 2021 legislative elections, 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 “reflects the disenchantment that has caused many voters to disbelieve in political parties,” said Juan Negri, professor of Political Science at the Torcuato di Tella University.
“After the failure of the government of Mauricio Macri (2015-19) many have turned towards a more radical right,” Negri said.
The crisis
Although they have almost always lived in an economy in crisis, Argentines are currently suffering the worst indicators in 30 years: annual inflation is 115%, one of the highest in the world, poverty reaches 40% of the population of more than 45 million people, and the local currency, the peso, is devaluing against the dollar at an ever faster pace (17% in the last month).
“I want the best for my grandchildren, but I don’t have much hope. They are all apolitical, the only thing they think about is leaving the country,” said Isabel Asebal, 77, at a polling station in Buenos Aires.
Mariana López, a 45-year-old nutritionist who went to vote with her 8-year-old daughter, expressed a similar wish. “I want the next government to encourage young people to stay in the country. Argentina is a very beautiful country, but we must recover the values of education and work,” she said.
Argentina is the third largest economy in Latin America and a major world exporter of food. At the same time, it has to comply with an agreement for 44,000 million dollars with the International Monetary Fund.
“Argentina has been in economic decline for more than 10 years, in a crisis that is slowly worsening. There is a growing disaffection of the electorate in a country that had clear political identities. This year’s election is a key one due to the need of the voters for a change, but also for the politicians to change,” Negri said.
In these elections, the candidates for the partial legislative elections that renew part of the Congress are also chosen, for the mayoralty of the capital and for the governorship of the province of Buenos Aires.