MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei willing to reshuffle and deal again to beat Kirchnerism

“All of us who want change must work together,” Milei said in one of his messages to JxC

Libertarian Congressman Javier Milei said Sunday after finishing second in Argentina's presidential election that he was willing to reshuffle and deal again to defeat Kirchnerism, which is represented by Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who was Sunday's winner but failed to avoid a runoff.

“Two years ago, if we had been told that we would go to a second round with Kirchnerism, we would not have believed it. This is a historic event. From not having a party to contesting the first national power with Kirchnerism is a truly historic achievement. We have come to contest power with those most nefarious to democracy,” Milei stressed.

“I want to salute [Buenos Aires Autonomous City mayoral candidate] Jorge Macri, who made a great election in CABA and has a runoff with Kirchnerism ahead of him, as do we,” Milei pointed out as a way to build bridges with the Juntos por el Cambio (JxC) coalition of former President Mauricio Macri, whose candidate Patricia Bullrich was left out of the race but whose votes could decide the outcome of the Nov. 19 contest.

“We can prevent our children from leaving the country. Let's not look back. All of us who want change must work together,” Milei said in another message to JxC.

After winning the August 13 Open, Mandatory, and Simultaneous Primary (PASO) ELECTIONS by a wide margin, Milei's camp was banking on a first-round victory on Sunday. The fact that he finished behind Massa, who came third in August, was a surprise.

Under the slogan “Freedom or Kirchnerism,” the libertarians focused on the weaknesses of the ruling party, in addition to the scandals in which many of its leaders have recently been implicated, but, unlike Massa's Unión por la Patria (UP), they did not significantly improve their performance in the open primaries.

Now Milei will have to win over Bullrich's voters after repeatedly criticizing JxC and refusing to even discuss a broader coalition.

With a first-round victory on the radar, Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, was in Buenos Aires for the celebrations that had to be postponed, at least for now.