MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Incumbent governor expected to repeat on Sunday's Tierra del Fuego election

Tierra del Fuego public opinion polls indicate that current governor Gustavo Melella and his Deputy Monica Urquiza are expected to repeat with an approval rating close to 59%.

Next Sunday the Argentine extreme southern province of Tierra del Fuego will be elected Governor, Deputy Governor, 23 provincial lawmakers, three mayors, and eight city councilors. Despite its size, the island province divided into 16 electoral districts has an electoral registry of 141.548 and all newly elected members will be taking office from 11 December 2023 until 11 December 2027.

This Sunday two other provinces will be going to the polls La Pampa, and Salta, all three have governments closely aligned with the Peronist/Kirchner alliance which currently holds the Executive and most of 24 provinces governorships.

But given the prospects of a monumental defeat of the national incumbent leaders (Executive and Legislative) next October, given the disastrous administration of Alberto Fernandez and vice-president Cristina Kirchner, (120% inflation, recession, lack of jobs be it not in the government payroll, street crime, collapse of the public education and health care systems, extended corruption) most governors have chosen to disengage the national election (October) from their local polling, and fortune, over which most have a very strong grip.

Thus in Tierra del Fuego public opinion polls indicate that current governor Gustavo Melella and his Deputy Monica Urquiza, from the ruling the Joint making Future, are expected to repeat with an approval rating close to 59%.

A distant 13,5% is Hector Stefani, currently a federal member of the Lower House in representation of PRO, one of the main groups of the divided opposition JxC (Together for Change) with 13,5%, while Pablo Blanco from the Radical Union, 5.9% (also from the divided opposition), and Republicans United with Andrea Almiron de Pauli, 5,2%. Workers Radical Left, 2,7%, blank vote 4,4% and those who say they don't know 8,7%. Any runoff, 28 May.

Next October Tierra del Fuego renews three federal members of the five it has in the Lower House. As each Argentine province, the austral territory is entitled to three Senators, each of them for six years but this coming October will not be electing new ones.