Presidential elections bring ‘End of an Era’ to Argentina

Americas Now

For the first time in more than a decade voters in Argentina will choose a new President and it could propel the country in a whole new direction. On October 25th, Argentinians head to the polls to vote for their new leader. 

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will leave the Pink House in Buenos Aires after serving two consecutive terms of office.  Along with her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, the couple has run the country since 2003. 

The government calls their administration the ‘won decade,’ because they took over when the country was in ruins following the economic crash of 2001. But critics say the Kirchners’ combative style and their policies have been polarizing too. 

Americas Now correspondent Joel Richards reports on how the events over the past few years have energized public debate in Argentina and brought about major change.  Joel also tells us how they’ve led to a growing divide.

With a week to go, pollsters and analysts aren’t sure if there will be an outright winner.  The winning candidate must get either 45% of the vote or take 40% with a 10 point margin.  If neither happens there will be a run-off election in November.

The leading candidate, Daniel Scioli owes much of his lead in the race to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner supporters. Both Scioli and Fernandez de Kirchner are Peronists from the Front for Victory party. However, even with that lead some polls say a run-off is likely.

Check out Joel Richards’ piece to get an overview of the election and an idea of what Argentina’s political and economic future might hold.

 

Presidential elections bring \'End of an Era\' to Argentina

For the first time in more than a decade voters in Argentina will choose a new President and it could propel the country in a whole new direction. On October 25th, Argentinians head to the polls to vote for their new leader. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will leave the Pink House in Buenos Aires after serving two consecutive terms of office. Along with her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, the couple has run the country since 2003. The government calls their administration the ‘won decade,’ because they took over when the country was in ruins following the economic crash of 2001. But critics say the Kirchners’ combative style and their policies have been polarizing too. Americas Now correspondent Joel Richards reports on how the events over the past few years have energized public debate in Argentina and brought about major change. Joel also tells us how they’ve led to a growing divide.