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‘Uncertainty’ as Argentines vote, seeking elixir for economic ills

By AFP
October 23, 2023
A nun casts her vote at the polling station in Tigre, Buenos Aires, during the Argentine presidential election on October 22, 2023. — AFP
A nun casts her vote at the polling station in Tigre, Buenos Aires, during the Argentine presidential election on October 22, 2023. — AFP

BUENOS AIRES: Argentines voted on Sunday in a presidential election dominated by fury over decades of economic decline and record inflation that has propelled libertarian outsider Javier Milei to the front of a tight race.

Once one of the richest countries in the world, Argentina has found itself unable to escape decades of fiscal crises marked by debt, financial mismanagement, and inflation that now stands at almost 140 percent year-on-year.

Many voters said they were gripped by fear and anxiety over what the election would bring as they chose between frontrunners Milei, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, and former security minister Patricia Bullrich. “Obviously I voted for Milei,” said Esteban Montenegro, 24, who works in sales, as the election got underway under a light rain in the capital Buenos Aires.