Skip to main content

Argentines pick new President.

Argentines are going to the polls to choose their next president in a general election that ends 12 years of rule under the Kirchners.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has served two consecutive terms and, under Argentina's constitution, cannot run again.

Her hand-picked successor, left-winger Daniel Scioli, is leading polls.

But he is expected to face stiff competition from Mauricio Macri, the centre-right mayor of Buenos Aires.

Another candidate, Sergio Massa, a former Kirchner ally, is polling behind Mr Macri, while there are three other names on the ballot paper.

Sunday sees the first round of voting. To win outright a candidate needs 45% of the vote or a minimum of 40% as well as a 10-point lead over the nearest rival.

Otherwise, there will be a run-off on 22 November.

Whoever wins the presidency faces significant economic challenges.

While the country gained strength after a financial crisis in 2002, its economy, the third largest in Latin America, has slowed down in recent years, with GDP growing by only 0.5% last year.

The government is also locked in a battle against American hedge funds who disagree with how is wants to restructure $100bn (£65bn) of debt on which it defaulted in 2001.

While the firms successfully sued Argentina for repayment, Mrs Kirchner refused to pay.

Mrs Kirchner succeeded her husband Nestor as president. He died in 2010, three years after handing over the presidency to his wife.

Image copyrightAFP/Getty ImagesImage captionDaniel Scioli was joined by his wife Karina Rabolini for a final rally in Buenos Aires

Mr Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province, is a former world powerboating champion who lost his right arm in a boat race in 1989.

Last week, he pledged tax cuts for middle-class workers earning under a certain income, a move expected to affect half a million people.

He has also vowed to bring down Argentina's inflation to single digits in less than four years and promises to introduce policy changes to invigorate the economy.

Image copyrightAFP/getty ImagesImage captionMauricio Macri is mounting a strong challenge to Mr Scioli

Like Mr Scioli, Mr Macri is married to a former model. He is a former president of Boca Juniors, Argentina's most successful football club.

The BBC's Wyre Davies, in Buenos Aires, says Mr Macri's centre right coalition Cambiemos - We Can Change - is seen as more market-friendly than Mr Scioli.

While Mrs Kirchner has sought to press Argentina's claims for the disputed UK territory of the Falkland Islands, Mr Scioli says he would not appoint a Falklands minister, and would seek closer ties with London.

"The world is going to watch the new president's first 24 hours very carefully," political analyst Pablo Knopoff told Agence France Presse.

"He'll have to deliver a message to convince people that Argentina is a country where they can invest, with clear rules."

Popular posts from this blog

CNN Poll: Judging the Supreme Court

- As the Supreme Court gets ready to issue opinions on some high profile and contentious cases, a new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether the high court is doing a good job. According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday morning, 48% of the public say they approve of the job the Supreme Court's doing, with an equal amount saying they disapprove. There is, however, an ideological divide. Fifty-three percent of liberals and 58% of moderates, but only 37% of conservatives, say that they approve of the court. "That's probably a reaction to last year's decision on Barack Obama's health care law," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. In a closely watched ruling, the court upheld the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, last June. "Before that ruling, most conservatives supported the Supreme Court, compared to only 44% of liberals. Now, most liberals approve of the court, with most co...
Read more

Who are the Niger Delta Avengers?

(Franks.) With a name that sounds like it has come from the pages of a superhero comic book, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is the latest militant group to emerge in Nigeria – attacking oil installations in a campaign which threatens the economy of Africa’s most populous state. “We are a group of educated and well-travelled individuals that are poised to take the Niger Delta struggle to new heights that has never been seen in this nation before,” the NDA proclaimed in one of their first statement’s on their website in April. “We have well-equipped human resources to meet this goal.” It was not an idle threat. The NDA has carried out a barrage of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region, causing a huge decline in oil production, which is the mainstay of the West African state’s economy. “The renewed activities of the militants in the Niger Delta are seriously affecting our oil production,” Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun admitted on state-owned NTA tele...
Read more

75 Killed In Mozambique After Taking Local Beer

75 Killed In Mozambique After Taking Local Beer Seventy five people have been reportedly killed in Mozambique following consumption of local beer. The Mozambican health authorities confirmed on Wednesday, November 4, that contamination resulted in the beer tragedy Chitima, Tete province, in the northwest of the country in January. It was earlier speculated that the poisoning were intentional, however, the ministry’s disclosure disproves all speculation. Xinhua news agency reports that the results of tested samples from the drink, locally known as “Pombe”, were made public on Wednesday in Maputo by the Ministry of Health. The tests were done in the United States, after South Africa failed to determine the causes of the deaths. Ilesh Jani, the director of the National Health Institute (INS), who presented the results at a news conference, told newsmen that the investigation into the samples started immediately after the deaths, as well as the treatment of...
Read more