Far-right libertarian outsider Javier Milei has won Argentina’s presidential run-off poll, provisional results say.
Milei’s rival, economy minister Sergio Massa, called him to concede.
Former US President Donald Trump congratulated Mr Milei on his victory, saying he would „Make Argentina Great Again!”.
The election comes at a difficult time for Argentina with rising inflation and an economy in crisis. In this context, Milei’s proposals, which included „blowing up” the central bank, won support with voters desperate for change.
Milei confounded pollsters by easily defeating the candidate of the governing Peronists by over 10 points, provisional results suggest.
With almost 90% of votes counted, Milei had nearly 56% of the vote compared.
In his victory speech to supporters in Buenos Aires, Mr Milei said: „Today begins the reconstruction of Argentina. Today begins the end of Argentina’s decline. […]The model of decadence has come to an end. There is no way back. […]Argentina will return to its place in the world that it should never have lost. We are going to work shoulder-to-shoulder with all nations of the free world, to help build a better world.”
Javier Milei has been likened to former US President Donald Trump and Brazilian ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro. He has little political experience but the fact that he is a political outsider was part of his appeal for many voters, reports the BBC.
His talk of introducing the US dollar as the country’s official currency was met with applause by his supporters, though many economists though say it may spell financial disaster.
In a country where annual inflation is now over 140% and two in five people live in poverty, his win proves that Argentines are fed up with traditional politics and economic disaster.
South American leaders have also been commenting on Mr Milei’s victory, with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posting: „I wish good luck and success to the new government. Argentina is a great country and deserves all our respect.” However, Milei publicly criticised Lula’s policies and branded him an „angry communist”. At the same time, Colombia’s left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, said the result of the election was „sad for Latin America”. „Neoliberalism no longer has a proposal for society, it cannot respond to humanity’s current problems,” he posted on X.
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric said he saluted Milei „for his victory and Sergio Massa for his worthy recognition of defeat”. He posted on X: „I wish the Argentine people the best and know that they will always have our respect and support.”
