On Sunday evening, voters were shocked when Economy Minister Sergio Massa won the first round of Argentina's presidential election, showing their uncertainty about electing his main rival, a right-wing populist who destroyed national politics and promised to reduce the country's debt drastically.
Despite the fact that during his leadership inflation has shot up to triple digits, eroding purchasing power and escalating hardship, Massa defeated chainsaw-wielding economist and rookie lawmaker Javier Milei. But he received no punishment.
Massa got 36.7% of the vote and Milei had 30% after 98.3% of the ballots had been counted, suggesting a runoff election will be held in November. The majority of the notoriously inaccurate pre-election surveys gave Milei a slim edge and placed Massa in second place. Patricia Bullrich, a former security minister who is a member of the main center-right opposition coalition, came in third with 23.8% of the vote. Massa has been a key player in the center-left government in charge since 2019. According to Mariel Fornoni of the political consulting firm Management & Fit, he was successful in focusing his messaging on how Milei's plan to shrink the size of the state would influence Argentines' daily lives, from half the number of government departments to significant spending cuts.
In the last days of the campaign, Massa concentrated a large portion of his firepower on warning voters against supporting Milei and portraying him as a risky upstart. He stated that Milei's proposals might seriously harm social welfare programs, public education, and health care. Among those Milei intends to destroy are the ministries of health, education, and social development
. I'm hurting inside. I assumed he would triumph in the opening round. Ivan González, a 22- year-old Milesta who was sporting a Donald Trump cap and waving a yellow Gadsden flag—a symbol of the American Revolution adopted by the US far right and Milei's movement— admits, "I was astonished. The defeat on Sunday was attributed to Milei's "fear-mongering" rivals, but González said he had not given up on a victory in the next round.
A presidential candidate needs to win the first round of voting with more than 45% of the total vote, or at least 40%, and at least a 10-point advantage over the runner-up. The next president of Argentina will begin a four-year tenure in office in December.
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