Argentina: Outcome of the 2023 elections – Beginning of a new era?

In the run-off election on 19 November 2023, Argentinians elected right-wing populist Javier Milei, aged 53, as the country's new president. Four weeks earlier, on 22 October 2023, general elections had taken place to elect the president, vice-president, members of the national congress and the governors of most provinces. Following the primaries of 13 August 2023, to the great surprise of all experts, anti-establishment candidate Javier Milei, leader and founder of the La Libertad Avanza party, entered the presidential race as the favourite. Milei was unable to maintain his leading position in the elections on 22 October and was overtaken by Economy Minister Sergio Massa. Massa was running for the Unión por la Patria, a centre-left coalition of Peronist political parties that have dominated Argentine politics for decades. However, in the run-off election Milei won 55.7 % of the votes, while Massa received 44.3 %. Many commentators compare the self-proclaimed 'anarcho-capitalist' to former US President Donald Trump and former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro.