By María Josefina Arce
A period of uncertainty begins in Argentina. The far-right Javier Milei, of the La Libertad Avanza Party, will be the new president of the country for the next four years, after being elected this Sunday in the second round of the general elections.
Milei obtained about 56% of the votes and won against his opponent, the pro-government Sergio Massa, of the Partido Unión por la Patria, who obtained 44%.
Once again, polls predicted a closer scenario for this second electoral round, with a technical tie between the two aspirants to the presidency of the South American nation.
The candidate of La Libertad Avanza had already made a surprise last August by winning the so-called PASO, primary, open, simultaneous and mandatory elections, with more than 30% of the votes.
According to the authorities, 76% of the citizens exercised their right to vote in this second round of elections, described as the most disputed and uncertain of the last 40 years.
The final stretch of the campaign for Sunday's runoff was marked by crossed accusations and warnings from Milei and other members of his party of possible irregularities in the vote count.
Comments denied by the National Electoral Chamber, which described them as unfounded, since, it pointed out, the system is robust and has numerous guarantees of reliability.
And although Milei moderated his speech for Sunday, his position in favor of strong tax cuts and social spending and the dollarization of the economy, even led more than a hundred economists from all over the world to warn about the danger he represented.
However, the current economic situation in Argentina, with high inflation and increasing poverty, a scenario that began to take shape under the mandate of the now former President Mauricio Macri and the loan of 50 billion dollars from the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, influenced the vote of the Argentines.
Milei also developed an extensive campaign on social networks aimed at young people, many of whom opted for the far-right candidate, disenchanted by the current situation of the country.
But the advance of the ultra-right in Argentina in the figure of Milei, supporter of a neoliberal model and who has spoken out for eliminating several ministries such as Health and Education and has been questioned for denying the crimes against humanity committed during the civil-military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, is worrying.
For many, there are many questions about the future of the country. The only certainty is that as of December 10 he will be presided over by Javier Milei, compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who in fact immediately congratulated him.
