Argentina’s presidential race has reached a decisive end with incumbent president Mauricio Macri conceding defeat to his far-right opponent, Alberto Fernandéz.
The runoff election yesterday marks the end of Macri’s four year term as president, during which he promised to restore the country’s economy, while Fernandez widespread support denoted an outcry for a new government.
After facing months of financial hardship in the wake of the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, Macri accepted his fate during a brief speech on Sunday, saying, “The other side won today, and I wish them luck.”
Meanwhile, Fernandez ran a campaign that promised more widespread protection of civil and human rights, as well as increased social spending. His main base of support came from rural and interior cities, a novel approach that yielded him a winning majority.
Though Fernandez’s victory carries a generally left-leaning edge, Macri’s departure from office comes as a sign of hope for some, seeing his increasingly right wing views as detrimental for the country.
Yet Fernandez has his skeptics as well, some seeing his unwillingness to oppose the influential vice president Miguel Angel Milei’s anti-abortion stance as a fatal political flaw.
With the promise of increased social welfare and justice for against the country’s marginalized communities, Argentina’s new president is well on his way to face the daunting task of restoring the nation’s financial stability. While Fernandez succeeds Macri with a center-left agenda, many remain skeptical of his overarching political goals.