On November 19, Argentina faced one of the most important elections since the return of democracy in 1983 exactly 40 years ago.
On November 19, Argentina faced one of the most important elections since the return of democracy in 1983 exactly 40 years ago. The pro-life libertarian underdog candidate Javier Milei and his party “La Libertad Avanza” won the presidential run-off with a landslide victory, a 12% margin over the leftist Peronist former Minister of Economy Sergio Massa: 56% versus 44%. The two candidates campaigned for each vote in one of the most polarized and ideologized campaigns ever.
During the first electoral round, held on October 22, the ruling party candidate Massa unexpectedly reached 36.7% while Milei received just 30%. This was an election between freedom against the Hobbes‘ Leviathan idea embraced by Peronism, as well as all the majority of the leftist governments in Ibero-America.
Milei’s victory represented a historical change for a country run by Peronists for more than 45 years. This victory is also due to the crucial support provided by the former presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich and her center-right coalition “Juntos por el Cambio” who arrived third with 23.84 % in the first election round last October.
In his first public and inclusive statement new President elect Milei stated, “Today begins the reconstruction of Argentina. Today begins the end of Argentina’s decline. The model of decadence has come to an end. Argentina will return to its place in the world that it should never have lost. We are going to work shoulder-to-shoulder with all the nations of the free world, to help build a better world. Our key words are limited government, respect of property rights and free trade.
