The far right also breaks through in Argentina. This was the clamorous result of the primaries held yesterday in the South American country, to choose the candidates for the presidential elections on 22 October: the candidate with the most votes (just over 60% of the ballots were scrutinized at the time of writing) was the sovereign Javier Milei, Trump Argentine who presented himself with the independent list Libertad Avanza, which collected about 32% of the preferences, five points more than the sum of the two candidates of the center-right party Juntos por el Cambio, while the Peronist party currently in government emerged largely defeated, presented by the Minister of Economy Sergio massa, stopped according to the partial results at 20%.
In fact, these were early elections, given that in Argentina the primaries are compulsory for citizens aged between 18 and 70 and that some parties presented only one candidate, the result of which was therefore a test in view of the decisive round between just over two months. Sergio Massa will therefore be the candidate for the centre-left, as expected, but the result of the Peronist party is one of the worst in history: even considering the scarce 5% obtained by the outsider Juan Grabois, he obtained less than the ticket of the moderate right, represented by Patricia Bullrich, the Thatcher Argentina, with 16%, and by the governor of Buenos Aires Horacio Larreta, with about 11%. Although, considering the country's economic situation, with theinflation over 100%, one almost thinks that the outgoing majority limited the damage.
Instead, it went decidedly better for Milei, who overturned all the predictions of the eve: in truth, the anarcho-capitalist, as he himself likes to provocatively define himself, was in the lead in the polls a few months ago, but the latest surveys had considerably reduced its rise, suggesting a victory for the "traditional" centre-right. Instead, the party of former president Mauricio Macri collects a disappointing 27% overall, just two points above the candidates expressed by the current – and unpopular – majority, and will therefore lead Bullrich to run for the Casa Rosada. Bullrich is considered the Iron Lady of Argentine politics, even if her distant past would suggest otherwise, given that in the 70s she was a militant in the Montoneros, the guerrilla group of revolutionary Peronism, bitter enemy of Jorge Videla's regime.
Today, however, the former Minister of Security of the Macri government represents the toughest wing of the liberal party: in this electoral campaign she promised the maximum commitment against corruption and crime, thus having the better of the "dialogue" candidate Horacio Larreta, from decidedly more moderate positions. But in Argentina the economic crisis has worsened too much to leave room for centrist solutions, and for this very reason it was Javier Milei who broke the bank, who, as had happened in Brazil with Bolsonaro, is capitalizing on the protest vote. Practically one out of three Argentines has given him their preference for now: his candidacy was not in question as the only candidate on his list, but now he practically runs as the favorite in the presidential elections on 22 October.
If he were to reach 45% of the vote or 40% but with a ten-point margin over the latter, he would be elected president in the first round. Otherwise Milei, who theorizes the complete dollarization of the Argentine economy, will probably play it in the ballot in an all-right derby, with Peronism risking one of the greatest defeats in history.
