President Mauricio Macri suffered a crushing defeat as Argentines voted in party primaries on Sunday ahead of October's general election. Given that all of the recession-hit country's major parties have already chosen their presidential candidates, the primaries effectively served as a nationwide pre-election opinion poll.
Argentines are facing what is probably the tightest presidential race since the return of the country’s democracy in 1983 with conservative President Mauricio Macri facing an opposition ticket including ex-President Cristina Fernández, and the primary elections Sunday are expected to provide a hint of who might win October’s vote.
Ahead of Sunday's primaries' mandatory vote, The Economist published the following on Argentine president Macri's chances of reelection, in what seems a very tight competition with Kirchnerism.
Argentina’s election primary on Sunday will determine President Mauricio Macri’s chances of winning a second term in October, with the country’s embattled peso currency expected to take a fresh beating next week if the business-friendly does not accomplish as expected.
Argentina’s peso fell 1.8% on Monday to 45.49 per U.S. dollar due to uncertainty over the country’s presidential election and the fallout from U.S.-China trade tensions, traders said.
Public opinion polls in Argentina show a very close, polarized race between President Mauricio Macri and opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez before next Sunday's PASO primaries which are Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory, and most important a clear anticipation of what could happen in October's presidential election.
Argentina's opposition presidential candidate Alberto Fernández took distance from her mentor and vice president companion, Cristina Fernandez, saying that the food situation in Venezuela is under no means comparable to Argentina.
President Mauricio Macri’s chances of winning Argentina’s election this year are improving as public sentiment climbs and the economy begins to find its footing after a currency crisis, according to Alejandro Catterberg, director of Poliarquia, one of the nation’s top pollsters.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his rivals in the October election launched their campaign ads on local TV on Sunday, targeting undecided voters who will be key to choosing whether his policies remain in place another four years.
Alberto Fernandez, the main challenger to incumbent President Mauricio Macri in October elections, said on Thursday that if elected he would seek to “rework” Argentina’s huge financing deal with the International Monetary Fund, calling it “harmful.”