As far as the big winner of the first round is concerned, the October 22 vote has the appearance of a resurrection: Peronism was said to be at the end of its life, but its representative of the moment, Sergio Massa, rose to the top, making a lie of all the predictions by collecting 36.7% of the votes.
Javier Milei, who firmly believed in a victory in the first round, had to revise his ambitions downwards. Displaying a calm serenity, the troublemaker of Argentine politics welcomed a “historic election, for a young political force,” during a more sober speech than his previous interventions.
Each of the two candidates now knows that, in view of the second round of the presidential election which will take place on November 19, they will need to rally a Catholic electorate with a majority of 63% in the country of Pope Francis.
Javier Milei – the man defines himself as a “libertarian” – often slipped up during the campaign, going so far as to insult, sometimes in crude terms, the person of the Sovereign Pontiff, whom he accuses of “promoting communism.”
Sergio Massa has not really immitted the odor of sanctity regarding the Pope either. The current Minister of the Economy, who is seeking the presidential mandate, is a long-time ally of the two great Peronist personalities of the country, Nestor Kirchner and Cristina Fernadez de Kirchen, against whom the former archbishop of Buenos Aires has been bluntly opposed in the past.
But a lot of water has flowed through the Rio de la Plata in a few weeks: political discourse is beginning to change and become all the more lenient towards Pope Francis as the date of November 19, 2023 approaches. During his electoral rallies, Sergio Massa now assures that he is working so that – if he is elected – “2024 will be the year our dear Pope Francis visits Argentina.”
Javier Milei, for his part, abandoned his anti-Francis posture, assuring him of his “respect as head of the Catholic Church,” and judging “irresponsible” the declaration of one of the members of his movement which recently pleaded for a “diplomatic break with the Holy See.”
What is certain is the inability of the Peronists in power to curb inflation – +138% over one year – and to fight against a poverty rate of 40%. This has played a large part in the rise of the “libertarian right” candidate which, in addition to an expansion of abortion, advocates the replacement of the national currency by the dollar, a drastic reduction in taxes and public spending, but also the free carrying of weapons.
Summoned to choose – some would say – between Charybdis and Scylla, the Argentines are not even sure that their country can be governable after next November 19. The partial legislative elections, which were held at the same time as the presidential election, in fact mark a breakthrough for the ultraliberals who should obtain around 40 parliamentary seats.
The disappointment was visible on the defeated faces of Javier Milei’s supporters on the night of October 22, 2023, which saw the first round of the presidential elections take place in Argentina. The man described as the “Argentinian Trump” did not manage to come out on top, receiving 30.2% of the votes cast.