In the first round of the election four weeks ago, which featured three other candidates, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, 51, who represents the ruling left-wing populists, won 36.6 percent of the vote, while Millay, 53, won 29.9 percent.
In the second round, Milej won 55.7% of the votes and Massa – 44%.
“Today begins the reconstruction of Argentina. Today begins the end of Argentina’s decline,” Millay said in his victory speech. “The model of decadence has come to an end. There is no turning back.”
The party represented by Milej “Freedom Forward!”, which he founded in 2021, is socially conservative, but considered liberal in economic matters.
Incumbent Alberto Fernandez, who has become very unpopular, announced in the spring that he would not run for a second five-year term.
In the last year, the third largest economy of Latin America has experienced an increase in inflation to 140%, poverty has increased in the country and the value of the national currency, the peso, has fallen. The government, fighting against the depletion of foreign exchange reserves, has introduced strict currency controls and imposed higher import taxes on companies.
Dissatisfaction with the current government, which is formed by the Peronist coalition “Tēvzemes savievina”, as well as with the opposition coalition “Together for Change”, has opened up opportunities for Milej. He has promised to “put an end to the parasitic, thieving, senseless political caste”, and has also announced that he wants to abolish the Central Bank, replace the peso with the US dollar, ban abortion, liberalize the arms trade and open up the market for human organs.
2023-11-20 09:23:40
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