Javier Milei succeeds Alberto Fernández as the new president of Argentina, after a long electoral process – between primaries, first and second rounds lasted three months – and media coverage like never before in the country’s history – as demonstrated by the record presence of foreign journalists. covering the elections in situ.
Milei, a 53-year-old economist, is a total outsider: former doorman, former rock singer, former performer of himself in the theater, he became famous as a television economic commentator with an eccentric image, with outbursts and ideas. radicals, among them the dollarization of the Argentine peso, the implosion of the Central Bank, the legalization of the trade in human organs, the extreme reduction of ministries, among other causes confided, according to him, by Conan, his deceased dog with whom he communicates.
He defeated Sergio Massa, a 51-year-old lawyer, career politician, former deputy, former mayor and current minister of an economy on the brink of collapse, by 55.95% to 54.04%, according to the first figures available but not yet official. Electoral participation (voting is mandatory) was 76%.
Milei’s victory, in addition to representing a defeat for the Peronism represented by Massa, means a victory for the traditional right, for Maurício Macri, president from 2015 to 2019, and Patrícia Bullrich, third classified in the first round, who decided to support the radical. .
Massa was the first to speak: “I want to thank everyone who participated in the campaign, a campaign with difficult moments, the 11 million who voted for us, and say that the results were not what we expected, I have already called.” Javier Milei to congratulate you.”
“In the next 19 days [até à posse de Milei] We will provide all the conditions so that the transition can be made without economic uncertainties,” he guaranteed.
“I love Argentina with the same intensity with which I love my children and I am entering another stage of my political life,” he concludes, with the understanding that he will not run again in the future.
So far, the winner, Milei, has not yet made a statement.
Before the announcement of the results, the election day was marked by moments of voting between the two candidates and by scattered accusations, by both teams, about possible fraud regarding the voting ballots.
At the end of the morning, thousands of people, hundreds of journalists, including the TSFand dozens of police vehicles traveled to the National Technological University, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Almagro, to monitor the vote of Javier Milei, far-right candidate of the La Libertad Avanza coalition, in the Argentine presidential elections.
A cult figure for his followers, Milei was received like a football team and in an already triumphant atmosphere. “You can see it, you can feel it, Milei is president,” the economist’s supporters shouted in unison.
“He is afraid, the caste is afraid, the caste is afraid,” continued the crowd, which made the usually quiet Avenida Medrano on Sundays look like the Bombonera, home of Boca Juniors, or the Monumental, home of River Plate, while the candidate He smiled and said. He threw his clenched fist into the air.
“We are very calm, we made all the effort we could make, everything that had to be done, we did it, now let the polls speak, the moment is theirs,” said Milei, the second most voted in the first round, to a month. she does, with 30% of the votes, along with Karina Milei, her younger sister, whom she calls “boss.”
“We are very satisfied, we work hard to confront a campaign of fear, a dirty campaign against us,” he concluded, before returning to the Hotel Libertador, the “bunker” of the “mileistas” these days.
Much more discreet but, nevertheless, with enormous popular and media attention, Sergio Massa, the candidate of the center-left Unión Por La Patria, voted in a school in Tigre, the region of Buenos Aires where he lives and where he held municipal functions. .
“I voted accompanied by my family, with a lot of love for Argentina and with the pride of helping to strengthen democracy, we have a huge opportunity to build a better future for our children, I ask everyone to vote with hope,” said the current Economy Minister.
Deserving 37% of the votes in the first round, despite the economic crisis of the government in which he participated, he promised that, if he wins, “the Argentina of national unity will come.”
However, Malena Galmarini, Massa’s wife, with extensive political experience and today president of the public company of Water and Basic Sanitation of Argentina, cast suspicions on the vote. “They accused us of fraud but they are the ones who break, or try to break, the rules, they are tearing up ballots everywhere, it is an organized action, we are talking to the electoral court about it.”
On Milei’s side, the accusations began 48 hours before voting day. Lilia Lemoine, deputy of the Libertarian Party, makeup artist, influencer, cosplayer and Milei’s image advisor, went to vote before the polls opened, at 8 in the morning, to offer herself as an electoral inspector, following up on complaints of possible fraud carried out by the La Libertad Avanza candidate on the eve of the vote.
And Patrícia Bullrich, third most voted in the first round and supporter of Milei, also denounced what she called “irregularities in the ballots.” “In many places in the province of Buenos Aires and other parts of the country, bulletins without numbers, altered numbers and bulletins even from the PASO are appearing,” in reference to the open, simultaneous and mandatory primary elections in August.
More than 86,000 members of the Armed Forces were deployed to man the 106,160 voting stations in 16,888 schools and other places in this second electoral round.
Throughout the day, the local press also followed the voting of the outgoing president and vice president, Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner, both supporters of Massa, and Maurício Macri, Fernández’s predecessor and supporter of Milei.
Source: TSF
