A necessary introduction
Based on the above, two candidates will face each other with a diametrically opposed government agenda and who, according to their objectives, have among their priorities to get the country out of the economic crisis it is going through after the government headed by Alberto Fernandez.
In this publication the author will give his considerations about this process and what may happen this November 19, in which two political forces that represent the opposite poles of domestic politics will be measured.
Argentina, one of the powers in the area
This is one of the most important countries in our region with one of the most influential economies and an important weight in politics. In this sense, it is a significant pillar in Mercosur and in other important economic forums. On several occasions it has gone through economic crises and its controversy with the International Monetary Fund over the delivery of state funds to cover its debts and other not so happy chapters is well known.
It is a commercial giant whose main economic activities include the production of a variety of foodstuffs, among which beef, agricultural and livestock production, tourism and the automotive industry stand out.
Likewise, it is a country with important mineral resources, very fertile lands and a broad culture that serves as the basis for its growing tourism industry. Due to its strategic importance, political forces always try to make Argentina favor the king they defend in the chess game of the continent.
For such reasons, this November 19, an important political game will be played in which the left and the continental right will try to win each of the contenders defending the predominant political currents.
For the time being, a televised debate has been held which, as has happened lately in many presidential debates in several countries, the candidates are devoted to offenses and personal attacks instead of stopping to defend their political proposals and government programs.
On a personal level, this has been a practice that I have witnessed in presidential debates in different countries that far from attracting voters, what it does is to turn them away from presidential policies.
The presidential options
According to this author, Argentina can make an important mark depending on the presidential candidate who wins the presidency this Sunday.
On the one hand, the left has Sergio Massa as its candidate while the right has its hopes pinned on Javier Milei, who represents each of the ideological strands to which the majority of Argentines belong.
On the one hand, Sergio Massa is a representative of the Patriotic Union, a political coalition formed to face these elections and to which different political tendencies belong, but which for many represents the continuity of the policy carried out by the outgoing formula of Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández, where he served as Minister of Finance of the current government. For the right-wing forces it is the continuity of the policy established by Domingo Perón and taken up again in the first decade of the 21st century by Néstor Kirchner.
On the other hand, the hopes of the right wing are centered on the congressman and president of the Libertarian Party Javier Milei. This candidate has had a stance against the policies of the current president and is considered in some political circles as right-wing, while in others he is declared as extreme right-wing. His advance has been meteoric and in the primary elections he reached the highest number of votes among all the candidates, which places him as a strong candidate to win the elections.
Why is the triumph of their candidates important for both political currents?
In the current regional context, the presidency of Argentina has a key strategic value because if Massa wins, the Latin American left is strengthened with governments of that political tendency such as Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia and Bolivia, which will allow them to continue implementing their national policies, with a more regional projection.
On the other hand, countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador would see their political positions strengthened and would have a heavy weight within their political partners and it would be a regional advance of a rejuvenated right wing with a political project that tries to sweep from the continent the whole basis of the regional left.
Another criterion of the importance of these elections and in the opinion of the author is that the results of these elections may influence the elections to be held in 2024, which could mark a before and after for these political currents.
Who will win the elections?
In the author's opinion, it will be a very intense electoral contest and the winner will be the candidate who has won the votes of the undecided. In my case, I do not trust polls so much because on several occasions they have pointed to one result and the reality says otherwise. An example that validates the above occurred in the primaries and in the first round.
To have an idea of the above, Javier Milei won the primaries against all odds and pollsters and, in the primaries when he was the favorite to lead, he lost against his opponent on Sunday 19.
A final comment
Left or right, Sergio Massa or Javier Milei?
These answers will be answered in the Argentinean elections that in the second round will decide their political future for the next four years. For the time being, we will have to wait and see how these general elections will play out.
Note: The translator used was Deepl Translate.
