Today’s News

Economy Minister Sergio Massa held the lead on Sunday night in early results from Argentina’s presidential election, a surprise reflecting voters’ reluctance to hand the presidency to the chief contender, a right-wing populist who has pledged to drastically overhaul the state.

With 86% of the votes counted, Massa had 36.2%, compared to the anti-establishment candidate Javier Milei’s 30.3%, meaning the two were poised to face off in November for a second round.

Most pre-election polls, which have been notoriously unreliable, gave Milei a slight lead and put Massa in second place. Massa, a leading figure in the center-left administration in power since 2019, appeared to have outperformed predictions by growing support significantly in the critical Buenos Aires province, home to more than one-third of the electorate, said Mariel Fornoni of political consultancy Management & Fit.

The highly polarized election will determine whether Argentina will continue with a center-left administration or elect one of the right-leaning leaders who both promised profound changes to a country plagued by triple-digit inflation and rising poverty. Former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, of the main opposition coalition, trailed well behind Massa and Milei in third place.

Massa’s campaign this year follows another eight years ago, when he finished a disappointing third place and was knocked out of the running. This time, he will have his shot at a runoff.

Other related news include:

Argentina Heads To A Runoff With Massa In The Lead

Argentina’s election will be settled in a presidential runoff between Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who defied expectations to snatch the lead in Sunday’s election, and libertarian outsider Javier Milei. It’s a politically polarizing scenario that investors had feared the most.

With most of the votes counted, Massa secured a lead by 36% while Milei trails behind by 30%, the country’s election authority said, leaving both below the necessary thresholds to win outright. Massa, 51, and Milei, 53, will face each other in a second round on Nov 19. The results mark a reversal of fortunes for Massa, whose ruling coalition had come third in August primaries.

Triple Digit Inflation In Store For The Victor

Whoever wins top office will have their work cut out for them with the first order of conduct, to grapple with the country’s triple digit inflation, no liquid reserves in the central bank and a plummeting currency that has lost half its value since August as the economy barrels toward its sixth recession in a decade.

Investors are hopeful the next government will slink rightward but roiled once more by uncertainty as the economy veers dangerously close to hyperinflation.

Inflation At 130% Slams Argentina With Concerns

Leon Romero is all in on Javier Milei, the outsider presidential candidate in Argentina whose radical proposals to revive the economy have made him the favorite.

However, details of Milei’s signature plan to scrap the peso and replace it with the dollar has puzzled Romero as he admittedly claims that he does not know how it would work. An air of uncertainty lingers as worries and questions fester — how much salaries would be upon the conversion, how would prices change and will banks be a safe haven for storage.