In Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, the economy minister Sergio Massa surprised everyone by getting over 36% of the votes. This means he has a good chance of competing with far-right candidate Javier Milei in a second round.
Mr Massa’s lead came as a surprise because people thought voters would be angry with him for being in charge during a financial crisis.
The rate of inflation in Argentina is almost 140%.
With almost all votes counted, none of the candidates got enough votes (45%) to win directly.
So, there will be another voting round on November 19th. People will need to decide between Mr. Massa, who belongs to the left-wing Peronist group, and Mr. Milei, who follows a far-right libertarian ideology.
Mr Milei, who got the most votes in the elections in August, is now second place with 30% of the votes.
Patricia Bullrich, who used to be in charge of security and has conservative views, came in third place with 23. 8% of the votes.
After the result was announced, Ms Bullrich criticized Sergio Massa for being part of the worst government in Argentina’s history. She stated that she would not congratulate him.
Juan Schiaretti and Myriam Bregman, the other two candidates in the election, did not receive as many votes. Juan Schiaretti got 6. 8% of the votes and Myriam Bregman got 2. 7% of the votes.
Some people who support Mr. Massa went out on the streets in Buenos Aires to celebrate after he won unexpectedly.
Luis Esquivel said to the BBC that Massa demonstrated that he was the only candidate with a real plan for the country.
“He organized a successful campaign, and the results prove it,” said Juliana Agrofoglio, a 27-year-old. She also said that the voters came together to face the fear that Mr. Milei had caused.
Mr Milei suggested getting rid of the central bank and using the US dollar instead of the Argentine peso. This appealed to voters who wanted a drastic solution to improve Argentina’s struggling economy.
He has also said he will reduce the number of ministries and make the government smaller, make it easier to own guns, and make it harder to get an abortion.
In easier terms, Mr. Milei said to his followers that they had seen the most significant election in the past 100 years. He added that Sunday’s vote was important because Argentineans voted for something different.
Benjamin Gedan, who is in charge of the Argentina Project at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, said that even though many people in Argentina want big changes, there are also many who would suffer if the social welfare system that Mr. Milei suggests gets taken apart.
“If Milei is at rallies holding a chainsaw, it means people’s quality of life is being negatively impacted,” Mr. Gedan told the AFP news agency. Mr Massa mostly talked about why the current government is good and should be supported during his campaign.
“Our country is facing a difficult situation (. ) but you believed in us as the best means to make progress in Argentina’s history,” he told his supporters in Buenos Aires.
The 51-year-old person said that the cuts in spending made by his government happened because the previous government had borrowed a lot of money from the IMF.
With two very different candidates competing against each other, disagreements are likely to get worse in the next month leading up to the final vote. This is happening during a tough period for Argentina’s economy.
The person who wins the run-off will face a big task: to convince a country tired of politics and filled with people who desperately want their lives to get better.