Argentina opposition leads in congressional mid-term primaries
Last edited Mon Sep 13, 2021, 12:00 AM - Edit history (1)
Argentina's main opposition coalition held leads in congressional primary elections on Sunday, early results showed, indicating a strong challenge to the ruling Peronist coalition.
Nationally, and with over 90% of the vote counted, the conservative Together for Change coalition had a strong lead of 41% to 30% for the ruling Front for All in House races - and 45% to 29% in Senate races.
The primary vote, in which voting is mandatory, is an acid test for President Alberto Fernández's government ahead of the November 14 midterm ballot - where half the seats in the Chamber of Deputies are up for grabs, as well as one third in the Senate.
Over 34 million Argentines were eligible to vote, with turnout (over 70%) confounding pessimistic projections.
The government now faces a challenge to its majority in the Senate and its working majority in the Lower House - where it has a slim lead of some five seats over the main opposition party.
Were the results replicated in November, the Front for All would lose 9 of its 120 House seats, and 6 of its 41 Senate seats; Together for Change would add 2 to its 115 House seats, and 5 to its 25 Senate seats.
A lengthy recession, rampant inflation and rising poverty have hurt public support for the government, despite recent signs of an economic recovery and falling coronavirus cases.
GDP, which fell 10% in 2020, recovered 9.7% in the first half of 2021.
And a ramped-up vaccination program - 84% of adults have had at least one dose - similarly overcame a slow start, curbing new daily Covid-19 cases by over 90% since late May.
"We had 99 normal days - and then the pandemic struck," Fernández lamented during a recent interview.
At: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentines-head-polls-litmus-test-peronists-2021-09-12/
Argentine President Alberto Fernández enjoys lunch with his center-left coalition's lead congressional candidate for Buenos Aires, Leandro Santoro, after voting in today's mid-term primaries.
Today's vote bode poorly for Fernández administration - in its first federal electoral test against the right-wing opposition ahead of midterm elections on November 14.
The addition this year of some 3,000 polling locations helped keep turnout high, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
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"While there are many things to improve, the alternative that governed before (Together for Change) made everything worse," she said.
"It seems to me that the handling of the economy during the pandemic has actually been good."
But when things are difficult, it doesn't help to tell people that the alternative would've been worse (and how!).
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To all that, I might add that the one incident that kept coming up in man-on-the-street interviews, was the infamous photo of Fernández celebrating his wife's birthday last year - while indoor gatherings were still largely banned.
The July 14th, 2020, photo was (of course) leaked on social media just last month, for maximum impact:
Even Dylan the Collie (left) seemed to know this was a problem!
By that date, people were back out jogging and carrying on with minimal restrictions - but indoor gatherings were still restricted.
And the president was caught flouting that - something that Argentine voters did not take kindly to, to say the least.
Even small mistakes can be costly - especially when you have most Big Media against you.
Thanks as always for reading and for your input, Judi. Have a great (and hopefully, cooler) week.
It would seem the people who attended are probably family members and spouses, etc.
The timing is completely predictable for a fascist bootlicker like Clarín, the "news" paper and corporation which totally white washed the entire Dirty War, and the murders of approximately 30,000 Argentines for political reasons.
What a shame the "news" people didn't think it would be worthwhile to remind the readers that the country was easing out of the tight restrictions at the time of the wife's birthday. They never feel obligated to disclose any facts which don't intensify their spin.
Why doesn't the public start rejecting cheap shots like dragging out trivial details to throw at their political enemies? You know they'd never consider mentioning it had Macri celebrated his wife's birthday, similarly.
(Dog friends just might feel insulted when people keep them away from living rooms, tables, etc. It's hard to miss Dylan seems to feel slighted! Can't blame him. Dogs work hard to keep the floor around the table completely spotless!)
Thank you, again. Hope we are actually seeing the final days of the country's hottest summer on record!
Washington cops probably prefer to not drag these hot, wet taxpayers to the station to arrest them for befouling the reflecting pool.
