Milei’s rival Sergio Massa admitted his defeat even before the first official results were announced.
Right-wing populist MP in Argentina Javier Milei has won the second round of the presidential election held on Sunday.
Milei’s support was around 56 percent and the counter-candidate, the former finance minister Sergio Massa got about 44 percent of the votes. The country’s election board will find out of calculation.
The Peronist Massa had time to admit its defeat even before the first official results were announced. The local media’s own predictions are already predicting Milei’s victory.
– Of course, the result is not what we hoped for, and I have spoken to Javier Milei and congratulated him. He is the president that the majority of Argentines have chosen for the next four years, Massa said in his speech.
The new president is scheduled to take office on December 10.
Latin American leaders offered their congratulations
After securing his election victory, Milei soon received congratulations and criticism from other South American leaders.
President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wished luck and success to the new president of Argentina in the messaging service X, but did not directly mention Milei by name.
Milei has previously criticized the Brazilian president, calling him an “angry communist”.
President of Chile Gabriel Boric in X sent his tribute to Miles for the election victory.
President of Colombia Gustavo Petro on the other hand, in addition to his congratulations, said that Argentina’s election result was a source of sadness for Latin America.
– The extreme right won in Argentina. It’s a decision made by his community, says Petro.
Miles of radical solutions to financial difficulties
During this year, economist Milei rose from a rather unknown member of parliament to the pre-election favorite. His radical presentations on Argentina’s chronic economic difficulties have aroused both echoes and strong opposition.
Milei, who heads the right-wing La Libertad Avanza coalition, has said that he wants, among other things, to dollarize Argentina’s economy, close numerous ministries and the country’s central bank, allow the trade in life and ban abortion. He has also said that he considers climate change to be a lie and has questioned the casualty figures of Argentina’s military dictatorship.
Counter-candidate Massa tried to present himself in his campaign as the opposite of the flamboyant Milei, as a safe and experienced alternative. During the election, he courted the voters by lowering income taxes for a large part of the population.
Sources: Reuters, AFP