In the town of San Justo west of the capital, the fiery nationalist is adored by the poor and working class for generous welfare handouts and protectionist policies but reviled by others for strangling the economy.
Advertisement
Let’s Change presidential candidate Mauricio Macri voted in the Wenceslao Ponce School in the Buenos Aires City neighbourhood of Palermo where he told reporters the electoral process was unfolding “without incidents”, hoping the federal government “maximizes the measures” to avoid something “similar to what happened in Tucumán” from happening today.
Macri, 56, rose to prominence as the boss of Argentina’s most popular football club, Boca Juniors, which won a string of titles under his reign.
To win, a candidate needs 45 percent of the votes, or 40 percent and at least a 10-point advantage over the nearest competitor.
The Argentine leader anticipated that “who will win the elections will continue strengthening this integration, because he is convinced there is a different world, with new partners as important as the rest when (ties) are transformed into concrete investments”, in direct reference to the ruling Victory Front (FpV) presidential candidate, Daniel Scioli.
The division between Scioli and Macri is stark. Polling stations are to close at 0800 on Monday (AEDT) and the main question is whether a run-off election scheduled for November 22 will be necessary.
Nestor Kirchner came to office in 2003, in the aftermath of a devastating economic crisis that triggered what was then the largest sovereign debt default in history and sparked deadly riots in the streets. Argentina’s next president, due to take office on December 10, will need to deal with inflation, as well as foreign exchange controls that have led to a thriving black market for dollars and shrinking central bank reserves.
Advertisement
He handed power to his wife in 2007.
