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Home , Frente de Todos, Juliana Awada, Mauricio Macri

expected to vote Peronists back in to power (they did, see below)

Polls say Alberto Fernández will replace as economic crisis bites

Presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez walks his dog Dylan before casting his vote, in ,

Argentina October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Argentines head to the polls on Sunday in an election expected to return to power the populist Peronist party, which has governed ’s third-largest economy for all but six of the past 30 years.

Polls predict a comfortable victory for Alberto Fernández, putting an end to the centre-right Mauricio Macri’s four-year presidency. has descended into another economic crisis and is on the brink of its ninth debt default.

Mr Fernández, a 60-year-old former cabinet chief from 2003 to 2008, and his running mate and former boss, the populist ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is no relation, won primaries in August by a surprising 16-point margin, with 48 per cent of the vote.

Since then, Mr Fernández has consolidated his position as the frontrunner. The popularity of the market-friendly Mr Macri has suffered from a more than 30 per cent devaluation of the peso after the primaries, as investors took fright at the prospect of a return of the populist economic policies of the past.

The winner needs at least 45 per cent of votes, or alternatively 40 per cent with a 10-point lead over the runner- up, to avoid a runoff vote in late November.

Vice presidential candidate Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a former president and first lady, waves to supporters upon her arrival to a closing campaign rally with running mate, presidential hopeful Alberto Fernandez in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. Argentina will hold presidential elections on Oct. 27. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a former president and first lady, waves to supporters in Mar Del Plata © AP

“It’s practically impossible for the vote to go to a ballotage,” said Lucas Romero, director of Synopsis, a local pollster, referring to a secound-round vote. “The only way that could happen is if Alberto Fernández loses votes, which is hard to imagine given that more people vote in these elections” compared with the primaries.

If 2.5m more voters turn out, as is expected, Mr Fernández would need to receive just 5 per cent of the extra votes for Mr Macri to force a runoff vote, argued Mr Romero. “That’s extremely difficult.”

While six candidates are competing for the presidency, at stake in the elections are also half of the seats in the lower house of Congress and a third of the Senate, after midterm congressional elections in 2017 saw Mr Macri’s ruling coalition impose a decisive victory on the then divided Peronist movement. But a currency crisis last year, which forced Argentina to seek a record $57bn bailout from the IMF, brought a reversal in the reformist president’s fortunes. The Peronists had managed to reunite after the firebrand Ms Fernández took the unexpected decision of stepping aside from the presidential race and inviting her more moderate namesake to run in her place. \

On the other side of the River Plate, Uruguay also holds the first round of its presidential elections on Sunday, a race which is expected to go to a second round given much tighter competition.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who is running for reelection with the Mauricio Macri gets a kiss from his wife during a campaign rally in Cordoba © AP

While Argentina could see a return to power for the left, the opposite is expected to happen in Uruguay, where the ruling centre-left coalition has been in power since 2005. Polls suggest that a victory for the opposition frontrunner, the market-friendly Luis Lacalle Pou, over the Broad Front’s Daniel Martínez is the most likely outcome.

Whoever wins in Argentina, Mr Macri is on course to make history by becoming the first non-Peronist leader to complete their presidential term in about a century. Since the return of in 1983, Raúl Alfonsín quit power amid hyperinflation a few months before his term ended in 1989, while in 2001 Fernando de la Rúa’s presidency was cut short after just two years amid a financial collapse and the biggest sovereign debt default in history at the time.

Presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez walks his dog Dylan before casting his vote, in Buenos Aires © Reuters Share on Twitter (opens new window) Share on Facebook (opens new window) Share on LinkedIn (opens new window) Benedict Mander in Buenos Aires 13 hours ago Print this page 2

CORRECTION - Argentina's presidential candidate for the party Alberto Fernandez flashes the Victory sign as he leaves the polling station with his partner Fabiola Yanez, in Buenos Aires during Argentina's general election on October 27, 2019. –

Polls opened early Sunday for Argentina's 34 million registered voters in an election in which Fernandez -- the main opposition candidate -- is widely tipped in opinion polls to obtain the 45 percent of votes needed to secure an outright victory in the first round. (Photo by Alejandro PAGNI / AFP) / The erroneous mention appearing in the metadata of this photo by Alejandro PAGNI has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [partner] instead of [wife]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers.

Argentina’s Mauricio Macri has conceded defeat in Sunday’s presidential elections, ushering in a return to power for the populist Peronist party that has governed Latin America’s third-largest economy for all but six of the past 30 years. Alberto Fernández, the 60-year-old former cabinet chief from 2003 to 2008, triumphed with 47.8 per cent of the vote, while Mr Macri’s centre-right coalition received 40.7 per cent, with nearly 88 per cent of the ballots counted. “This is just the beginning,” said Mr Macri as he conceded defeat in an emotional address to his supporters. “More united than ever, we are going to be there to defend the values that we believe in . . . we are going to continue working for Argentines through a healthy, constructive and responsible opposition.”

The Peronist victory justified former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s surprising decision to invite the lesser known and more moderate Mr Fernández, who is no relation, to run for the presidency, while she ran for vice-president. The strategy enabled the reunification of after it was deeply divided just two years ago — when the two Fernándezes were not even on speaking terms.

The new Peronist government will inherit an economy in crisis, on the brink of its ninth debt default, in recession and with at around 55 per cent. Although Mr Macri also faced a disastrous economic situation when he took power four years ago, most headline macroeconomic statistics are now considerably worse after a bruising currency crisis that forced Argentina to seek a record $57bn bailout from the IMF.

The market-friendly Mr Macri’s popularity suffered from a more-than 30 per cent devaluation of the peso after primaries in August, which Mr Fernández won by 16 points. Investors took fright at the prospect of a return to the Peronist’s populist economic policies.

The Fernández duo amply fulfilled the conditions required to seal an outright win by securing at least 45 per cent of the vote to avoid a runoff vote in late November. Recommended Latin American upheaval Will Argentina be safe in the Peronists’ hands?

At stake in the elections were also half of the seats in the lower house of congress and a third of the senate. Early results suggest that the Peronists and the centre-right opposition will have similar representation, with each group controlling almost half of both chamber.

Although many of the seats for provincial governors were already filled in separate elections, Mr Macri’s coalition lost control on Sunday of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s most populous province. María Eugenia Vidal lost by about 13 points to , who served as economy minister under Ms Fernández.

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, a member of Mr Macri’s inner circle who succeeded him as mayor of Buenos Aires in 2015, was re-elected in the capital city and might become the de facto leader of the centre-right coalition if the outgoing president withdraws from politics. https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/26/world/chile-unrest-president-ministers-resign/index.html

Mexico has problems too, son of El Chapo riots

(Photo by ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP via Getty Images) Alberto Fernández will inherit an economy in crisis © AFP via Getty Images Share on Twitter (opens new window) Share on Facebook (opens new window) Share on LinkedIn (opens new window) Benedict Mander in Buenos Aires 38 minutes ago Print this page 0