- By Katy Watson
- ` News, South America
5 hours ago
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Lourdes Monjes runs a corner shop in Buenos Aires
This weekend’s presidential runoff election has everything at stake. Few Argentines saw radical candidate Javier Milei coming until he won the primaries in August.
He may have been beaten to the post by left-wing Economy Minister Sergio Massa in the first round of voting last month, but polls now show the two candidates tied heading into the crucial runoff.
What is certain is that the economy will be the key factor in this election, which comes at a time of deep economic crisis in Argentina.
With inflation now exceeding 140% per year, repairing the country’s finances is high on the agenda for voters and candidates alike.
“I personally have a little notebook with the names of people who can’t make ends meet, and I give them items on credit,” says Lourdes Monjes, who runs a corner shop in the poor Isla Maciel neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
In the last few years in particular, she has seen how things have become more difficult. “My clients pay me back and they end up in debt again, so it’s a vicious cycle that they can’t get out of,” she says.
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Lourdes says things have become more difficult for many of her customers
Isla Maciel lies in the shadow of Argentina’s largest port, whose houses are made of wood and corrugated iron.
On the walls hang murals by Juan Perón, after whom the populist political movement Peronism is named and whose wife Evita was celebrated as a champion of the poor.
With 40% of Argentines now living in poverty, many are desperately looking for another savior.
Sergio Massa, the economy minister in the outgoing Peronist government, is promising to move mountains to improve Argentina’s finances.
His critics point out that the economy has collapsed to its current low under his leadership and therefore he cannot be trusted to lead the recovery.
But his supporters say he is an experienced politician who can achieve a lot if given the chance to steer things his way.
The other choice is Javier Milei – a political outsider who has proposed drastic changes such as abolishing the central bank and replacing the peso with the dollar. He also wants to liberalize gun laws and restrict abortion rights.
As the suffering of Argentina’s population increases, so does the appetite for radical change – and that’s why right-wing extremist Javier Milei has gained notoriety.
In the final TV debate between the two candidates last weekend, he advocated shaking up the status quo. “Ask yourself whether you prefer inflation to stability, whether you prefer this decline in output and employment, or whether you prefer economic growth,” he said.
image source, Getty Images
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Javier Milei (left) faces Sergio Massa in the runoff election for the next Argentine president
The other option, he said, is to “support this corrupt, parasitic and useless political caste that only destroys our wealth creation and drives us ever deeper into the depths.”
Mr. Milei’s style has attracted people’s attention.
He describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist” and at a campaign rally he brandished a chainsaw to symbolize his plan to cut government spending.
He has been compared to former US President Donald Trump – and closer to home – Brazil’s former leader Jair Bolsonaro.
“From an economic point of view, they are very similar because they have the idea that markets solve everything and the state is not necessary,” says economist Paulo Feldman of the University of São Paulo about the parallels between Mr. Bolsonaro and Mr. Milei.
“You don’t need planning, you don’t need government, you don’t need rules,” Feldman said of Mr. Milei’s proposals.
But this is not a viable program, says the scientist: “We know that’s not true. There is no country, no developed country, that does that.” [carries out] this stupidity.
Mr. Feldman’s views are shared by many other economists. Earlier this month, more than 100 people wrote an open letter warning that Mr. Milei’s election would spell economic disaster for Argentina.
Sergio Massa is trying to use nervousness over Mr Milei’s brash campaign and lack of experience to his advantage. “I know that there are some who vote for me, not because they are convinced, but just to avoid embarking on a path of violence, hatred and harm,” Massa said in Sunday’s debate. “I’m going to make sure they feel like their voice wasn’t wasted.”
Whoever wins, the next president will face a challenge.
“Whatever comes next will be hard,” says political scientist Ana Iparraguire about the difficulties of getting Argentina out of its economic hole. “It will require adjustments, budget cuts and a reduction in government spending, and that will come at a high cost, so we will have to wait and see how far each measure will go.”
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These children grow up on Isla Maciel near the harbor
Back at the harbor, a group of little boys are kicking a ball around in the street. Shipping containers are stacked in the distance.
These young people live in the shadow of one of Argentina’s economic engines – but their lives are far removed from its benefits.
Several of the young footballers are wearing T-shirts with Lionel Messi’s name emblazoned on the back. Argentina has no shortage of sports heroes – but people here say they need political heroes to pull the country out of this deep crisis.
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