Milei wins primaries in Argentina, emerges as favorite for general elections and talks about ‘ending kirchnerismo’

2023-08-14 04:17:39

With more than 90% of the polls counted, the ultraliberal candidate won a significant and surprising vote; in third place, the governing coalition suffered a significant defeat

Luis ROBAYO / AFP Javier Milei speaks during the closing of his campaign for the August 13 primary elections at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires

The primary elections of Argentina, which defined, this Sunday, the 13th, the presidential candidates for the October 22 elections, showed the strength of the right and exposed the crisis of the left in the neighboring country. With more than 90% of the polls counted, the economist Javier Miley he won the election and showed his strength for two months from now, when the Argentineans will actually choose their new president. Self-defined as an “anarcho-capitalist”, the outsider, the only candidate of the Freedom advances, reached 30.26% of the votes. Called the Argentine Jair Bolsonaro, Milei received support from the former Brazilian president on the eve of the vote. On several occasions in the campaign, he criticized the “socialism” of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which indicates a strain in relations between the two countries if the ultraliberal confirms the favoritism acquired in the primaries, known as Paso (Primary, Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory). .

At a party, supporters of the primary winner shouted in unison “Milei president” at the headquarters of the Freedom Advance candidate. His victory speech showed traditional verbiage and scathing criticism of current President Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner, his deputy and heiress to the political legacy of her husband Nestor Kirchner, who died in 2010. “This competitive alternative will not only put an end to Kirchnerism, but also with the parasitic, stupid and useless caste of this country”, said Javier Milei. “We are facing the end of the caste model, based on that atrocity that says that where there is a need, there is a right, but forget that this right has to be paid. Today we took the first step towards the reconstruction of Argentina. Not only were we the most elected force in individual terms, but today we are the most voted force. Because we are the real opposition.”

Second place went to the acronym Together for Change (27.9% of the votes), also on the right, but with more moderate positions than Milei. Supported by former President Mauricio Macri, Patricia Bullrich overcame the internal dispute with Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, closer to the center. This Sunday’s drawing shows that the former Minister of Social Security will be Milei’s main opponent in October, but this Sunday she made nods to the ultraliberal. “Milei, like us, does not want the State to be a cave of La Cámpora”, she said, citing the Argentine political movement of Kirchnerist character. The same did Macri when celebrating, in his social networks, the victory of the ally. “The results confirm: Argentina is entering a period of change that definitely leaves behind harmful ideas that only caused problems, poverty and disunity. Congratulations to Patrícia for the campaign, for the strength and heart she put into it. Thanks also to Horacio for having put in everything that needs to be done to strengthen, as this primary has strengthened, not only Juntos por el Cambio, but also PRO. Adding up the results of Javier Milei and ours, there is a huge majority of Argentines who propose a profound change that has not existed for decades.”

Defeated, the Union for the Fatherlandfrom the president Alberto Fernandez, on the left, reached 26.6%. As expected, the current Minister of Economy, Sergio Massawas ahead of the union leader Juan Grabois. Now he is picking up the pieces and trying to reorganize to achieve a turnaround in the general election. “There is a new scenario in politics, a new force that expresses the opposition. It split the Argentine electorate into thirds. We will fight until the last minute of the game, we have to build a new majority”, he declared. Responsible for the economy of a country with hyperinflation and high levels of poverty, the Peronist candidate will have difficulties to remain competitive until October.

A Paso works as a funnel to define the participants of the general election. To advance to the next stage, candidates needed to have at least 1.5% of the valid votes. In addition to the three main candidates, Juan Schiaretti (We do it for our country) and Myriam Bregman (Left and Workers Front – Unity) managed to qualify for the presidential race. During the day, the voting system had glitches and suffered from some problems. According to Judge María Servini, queues in polling stations were seen throughout the country. Because of this, the results began to be released only at 22:00. Another unexpected situation occurred at Casa Rosada, the seat of the Argentine government, which was the target of a bomb threat. The Federal Police had to isolate the area to carry out a thorough investigation with the help of other agencies.