An AP story on msn.com reports the results of yesterday’s presidential election in Argentina. Economy minister Sergio Massa came in first, followed by Javier Milei, and Patricia Bullrich was third.
With nearly all ballots counted early Monday, Massa had 36.7% of the vote and Milei had 30%, meaning the two will go to a Nov. 19 runoff. Most pre-election polls, which have been notoriously unreliable, had given Milei a slight lead over Massa. Former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, of the main center-right opposition coalition, got 23.8% to finish third in the field of five candidates.
Logically, in the runoff you would expect the Bullrich votes to go to Milei. Argentine politics are seldom logical. Milei is a radical libertarian and his platform of dollarization and closure of government ministries clearly frightens many who cherish current government handouts.
He has also cast himself as a crusader against what he calls the sinister forces of socialism at home and abroad. He opposes sex education, feminist policies and abortion, which is legal in Argentina. He rejects the notion that humans have had a role in causing climate change.
It is clear the forces of Peronism, which have poisoned Argentine politics for eight decades, are still a potent factor there. We will know more in mid-November.
