The political system in Argentina is in shock after the coalition led by libertarian economist Javier Milei came out on top in yesterday’s presidential primaries.
Mr. Milei proved to be a much stronger candidate than pollsters had predicted, winning 30 percent of the national vote to beat the center-right Together for Change coalition’s 28 percent, as well as finishing above the ruling center-left Peronist candidates with 27 percent.
Argentina’s electoral system requires every coalition to take part in open primaries, which take place two months before the real presidential election, scheduled for October 22.
This means that the combined tallies of all candidates within each coalition tend to give a good indication of final presidential totals two months later, allowing observers to predict the winner, although the 2023 race is proving too close to call at the moment.
Yesterday’s primary also served to decide the center-right presidential candidate, where hawk Patricia Bullrich took 17 percent of total votes versus 11 percent for centrist Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, eliminating Mr. Larreta from contention in October.
But the big winner of the night was clearly Mr. Milei, holding a lead in 16 out of Argentina’s 24 provinces.
“We are witnessing the end of the political caste’s model, based on the atrocious idea that a right should be born wherever there is a need. A model that forgets that those rights are paid by someone else. A model...
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