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Graphic shows results of Argentina’s presidential election.
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POLITICS

Peronists return to power in Argentina

By Jordi Bou

October 28, 2019 - Argentina shifted to the left as Peronist candidate Alberto Fernández won the country’s presidential election amid an economic crisis that has left a third of the country’s population in poverty.

Authorities said Alberto Fernández had 48.1% of the votes compared to 40.4% for Macri, with almost 98% percent of the votes counted. He needed 45% support, or 40% support with a 10 percentage point lead, over the nearest rival to avoid a runoff vote on Nov. 24.

The election was dominated by concerns over the country’s economic woes and rising poverty, with voters rejecting austerity measures that Macri insisted were needed to revive the struggling economy.

Argentina’s inflation rate is one of the highest in the world, nearly one third of Argentines are poor and its currency has plunged under Macri, who came into power in 2015 with promises to boost South America’s second-largest economy and one of the world’s top grains suppliers.

The result would also mark a dramatic return to high office for Cristina Fernández, who opponents say might be the real power behind Alberto Fernández’s throne. The running mates - who are not related - dismiss those concerns.

Alberto Fernández served as chief of staff from 2003 to 2007 for Kirchner. He remained in the position during part of Cristina Fernández’s term as president but left after a conflict with farmers in 2008. Macri’s camp tried but failed to force a runoff by portraying her as a puppet master waiting in the wings.

The result would mark a shift leftward for South America, which has seen conservative governments elected in Brazil, Colombia and Chile in recent years. Cristina Fernández was considered part of the “pink tide” of leftist governments that arose in the region in the 1990s and 2000s.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 28/10/2019; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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