The results of the first round of Argentina’s general election earlier this month gave voters in that country a taste of what Brazilians experienced in 2018, when the far-right Jair Bolsonaro and the center-left economist Fernando Haddad entered a nervous runoff.
At the time, Brazil felt that the decisive votes to break the tie would come neither from the left nor from the radical right — instead, the so-called moderate right had the power to determine who would lead the country for the next four years.
Mr. Bolsonaro won that race with much of the mainstream right coming out in support of him, arguing that Brazil had to vote for change, even if it meant electing a far-right anti-politics figurehead.
In Argentina, the only candidate who represents a threat to the country’s political establishment is Javier Milei, a far-right, eccentric, libertarian economist who, among other insane promises, vowed to “bomb” the Central Bank and wipe out many ministries.
Failing to repeat his victory in the country’s August primary, the radical candidate came in second in this month’s vote and is now headed for a similarly unexpected second round against the ruling party’s candidate, Sergio Massa — Argentina’s current economy minister.
So what about the moderate right? Well, just two days after the weekend vote, its representatives chose sides: in a press conference, former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich (who came in third on Sunday) said she and Mr. Milei had “forgiven each other” and were now working together to defeat the incumbent party in November.
The internet was abuzz with memes mocking the fact that this move was not surprising at all. This is because, given Latin America’s political history, many moderate right-wingers often prefer to bet on a very radical conservative rather than support moderate candidates if they have had any relationship with the left.
In Brazil, many right-wingers would do it again for Bolsonaro. But many others regretted it. What will happen in Argentina?
Check out the creation of this cartoon on The Brazilian Report’s TikTok (@brazilianreport) account.
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