Confident Massa and Milei looking for votes for the second round in Argentina

O Argentine electoral campaign opened a new chapter this Monday in the face of the second round between the Minister of Economy Sergio Massathe most voted in the first round, and the libertarian Javier Mileistill affected by the setback of going from favorite to having to overcome seven points behind.

Massa, who obtained 36.6% of the votes, appears strengthened as a leader capable of gaining support despite annual inflation of 140% and with four weeks ahead in which any economic slide will be a fall.

LOOK HERE: Elections in Argentina: “Massa’s victory is a big surprise, there was a fear factor regarding Milei”

“What is being discussed is what the framework for the next elections will be: whether, as Milei suggests, “continuity versus change”; or how Massa proposes ‘government of national unity vs leap into the void’“, he told AFP Sergio Morresiprofessor and doctor in Political Science from the University of San Pablo.

Meanwhile, the rearmament of strategies for the second round, on November 19th, will be a thorny path for Milei, who needs to win over the only part of the electorate that can be related to him: those who voted Patricia Bullrich (Together for Changeon the right), third with 23.8% of the votes, according to analysts.

“How can I not incorporate her, if she has been successful in combating insecurity?“Milei said about the former Minister of Security, in an interview with El Observador radio this Monday.

“The crack is over”

As soon as the result was known, Milei (29.9%) had already tried a drastic change of strategy on Sunday and took the main sword of Bullrich’s campaign: “End Kirchnerism”.

“We are in the race and we have a chance to win“, said the far-right candidate this Monday on La Red radio”.Two thirds (of the electorate) do not want Kirchnerism” he added.

But the play has dilemmas. “Massa is not a Kirchnerist. Mass is mass“Morresi clarified. “Massa says ‘I am not responsible for the cultural struggles that Kirchnerism promoted’, he talks about his future government, not this government, he talks about a broader alliance, not about bringing Kirchnerism back to power” he added.

In his speech on Sunday, the center-left coalition minister Union for the Fatherland assured that “the crack is over” after reiterating that, if he wins the presidency, he will call on all forces to build a unity government.

“It seems a mistake to propose that the next stage is linked only to Peronism“Massa told reporters on Monday. “We are moving towards a government of national unity. I will summon the best of the different political forces, regardless of their origin, because I believe that we have to build State policies”.

MORE INFORMATION: Results of the 2023 Argentine elections LIVE: Massa wins the first round and will compete in the second round with Milei

Fear of the chainsaw

“Pasta”He fulfills more (than Milei) the ‘physique du role’ of president: we see him as a president“, the political analyst and consultant told AFP Raul Timerman.

In his opinion, the flow of votes he obtained despite being Minister of Economy of an economy in crisis represents that “He was perceived by the electorate as the most capable of presiding over the country in a situation of chaos like the one it is experiencing now.”.

Added to the rampant inflation is the exchange rate race, where the value of the parallel dollar doubles the official price, while the annual interest rate is 133% and poverty reaches 40%.

On the opposite side, the proposal for abrupt cuts in public spending, state reform, privatization and dollarization represented in the lit chainsaw that Milei brandished at his rallies, “something funny turned into something scary“said Timerman.

“People think ‘this one is coming to destroy everything’ and there are those who want to maintain certain rights“, he said.

Massa interpreted the vote in this sense by indicating that the country “Will you face it“the reforms that the 21st century imposes”,without this meaning giving up the protection of the rights that Argentina over many years and which have to do with caring for the most vulnerable”.

new congress

However, the flow of votes from the extreme right represented a reconfiguration for the National Congresswhere it went from three deputies to a block of 38.

The Peronist Union for the Fatherland (UP) lost 10 seats and will be the first minority in the Chamber of Deputieswith 108 of the 257 seats.

SEE TOO: Who is Javier Milei, the prophet of dollarization who will run for President of Argentina | PROFILE

This new balance means that, if it returns to government, Peronism will need agreements to reach the regulatory quorum for debate.

The second force in the Chamber will continue to be Together for Changewith 93 deputies, after retaining only 31 of the 55 it put into play.

The distribution of forces will involve careful weaving of alliances.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.