Argentine president-elect Alberto Fernandez was to discuss the transition of power with defeated incumbent, Mauricio Macri, after an election in which voters opted for left-wing populism over pro-market policies to combat the country’s economic crisis.
Fernandez, a political insider who has never held national office, was due to meet with Macri first thing yesterday morning after sweeping to power in Sunday’s presidential election with 48 percent of the vote to Macri’s 40 percent, enough to avoid a runoff.
The fragility of the economic situation Fernandez would inherit was reinforced overnight as the central bank announced tighter currency controls and Argentine bonds dropped in early European trading.
Fernandez, who takes office on Dec. 10, addressed jubilant supporters on Sunday alongside his deputy, former Argentine president Cristina Fernandez, shortly after Macri offered his congratulations.
“Hopefully those who were our opponents during these four years are conscious of what they’re leaving behind and help us rebuild the country from the ashes,” Alberto Fernandez said.
The opposition win signals the return to national power of Peronism — an anti-elite political movement that traditionally favors workers over business owners.
However, while voters rejected the austerity of Macri’s government, the outcome was also tighter than expected, reflecting wariness about Alberto Fernandez’s ability to steer the economy through tricky waters.
After a frenzied final few weeks of campaigning, Macri narrowed the vote gap from a deficit of 16 percentage points in a primary in August — an outcome that spooked markets at the time, sending the peso tumbling and forcing Macri to enact capital controls.
His party also fared better than forecast on Sunday in several districts.
“While still a loss, it creates a more balanced Congress and political landscape going forward,” said Jimena Blanco, political research director at consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft in Buenos Aires.
Alberto Fernandez’s broad promises to improve things would run into immediate difficulty when he is sworn in, given a lack of funds to play with: The economy is contracting, inflation is above 50 percent, unemployment is more than 10 percent and a third of the population lives below the poverty line.
Investors also expect the government to default at some point.
Alberto Fernandez, 60, must satisfy the competing demands of far-left factions in his broad coalition that want more social spending, and the IMF, which agreed to a record US$56 billion bailout last year.
The IMF will likely have little appetite to dole out more cash if Fernandez implements policies that risk a balanced budget.
A key question is how Alberto Fernandez interacts with his powerful vice president. Cristina Fernandez was president from 2007 to 2015 and handed Macri an economy damaged by years of Peronism.
She was initially expected to run for the top job, and her influence in the new administration would be closely watched.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from