Alejandro Pagni/AFP/Getty Images
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Buenos Aires on November 19, 2023.
CNN –
Elections are underway in Argentina for a key presidential runoff, pitting far-right libertarian Javier Milei against the country’s left-leaning economy minister, Sergio Massa.
Both candidates were warmly greeted by their supporters as they arrived to vote on Sunday, a Portal video showed. Milei, dressed in a leather jacket, walked through a cheering crowd of cheering spectators in Buenos Aires, shaking hands, waving and signing autographs. He said: “Now is the time for people to express their views” by voting.
Massa seemed a little more reserved. Accompanied by his son, he took time to hug and chat with people in Tigre, a city on the outskirts of the capital where he previously served as mayor. Massa posed for several photos before entering the polling station and mingling with poll workers and voters. After the vote, Massa urged citizens to reflect and “think about the future.”
Acting Argentine President Alberto Fernández wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it was an important and happy day. “Argentinians will express themselves and decide our future,” he said.
According to the Argentine state news agency Télam, more than 86,000 members of the national security forces are deployed at almost 17,000 polling stations across the country.
Opinion polls in recent weeks showed a neck-and-neck race between the candidates, as Milei and Massa represented starkly different visions for the country, which is struggling with some of the highest inflation rates in the world.
The surprise rise of Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” was due to campaign stunts, including using a chainsaw at rallies to symbolize his plans to drastically cut government spending. His main policy proposal is to adopt the US dollar as Argentina’s national currency – an unprecedented step for a country of its size.
Matias Delacroix/AP
Milei of the Liberty Advances coalition arrives to vote in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, November 19, 2023.
Massa is a lifelong politician whose candidacy, unlike Milei’s candidacy, represents Argentina’s political establishment.
While inflation has reached painful levels of 142% year-on-year during his time in office, Massa is trying to argue that the government’s current measures are already paying off, with inflation in October being 35% lower than in September.
He helped pass the country’s law that legalized abortion in 2020 and believes in climate change; Milei is an abortion opponent and climate skeptic.
Mariana Nedelcu/Portal
Massa gestures as he speaks on the day of Argentina’s November 19 presidential runoff election in Tigre, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
The race is being closely watched as the latest test of far-right populism in the region. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has supported Milei’s candidacy.
Polls close at 6:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. ET), with a quick vote count expected.
Reporting is from CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota and Abel Alvarado in Atlanta.