Presidential elections in Argentina
Polytologist and professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Julio Burdman, brings some insights about this electoral proses in Argentina. teleSUR
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00:00 We go live now with political scientist and professor at the University of Buenos Aires,
00:03 Julio Burman, to go deeper in the analysis of today's paramount election.
00:08 Hello Julio, welcome to From the South.
00:10 Hi, hello.
00:13 Hi, thank you for your time.
00:14 Professor, the first questions we are hearing in the final hours of the election day,
00:18 how would you describe today's polls, how have they unfolded so far?
00:24 Well, we don't know the results. We expect a tight election because the country is divided
00:30 in two big blocks. On the one hand, we have the governmental block with the candidate Sergio
00:37 Maza, who happens to be the economy minister. And on the other hand, we have Javier Millet,
00:44 conservative far-right candidate with an alliance with Mauricio Macri, the former president,
00:52 who is center-right. And I think that they too have good reasons to believe that they are,
00:59 they achieved a very competitive alliance, given that in the primaries Millet got 30 percent and
01:08 the pro, the party of Mauricio Macri, got 23 percent. Of course, politics is not mathematics.
01:17 This doesn't mean that these two blocks are going to join like an arithmetic calculus, but
01:25 Sergio Maza, who was number one in the general election, now is
01:34 confronting a bigger block on the opposition side.
01:42 Professor, Argentina is decided today between two opposite sides of a coin. On one side,
01:47 we have Javier Millet and on the other, Sergio Maza, as you were saying,
01:50 two completely different government plans. What do each bring to the table if elected?
01:54 And in your opinion, what does Argentina need the most in its current context,
01:58 like the debt with the IMF and the rising inflation?
02:00 Well, they are different, but I think that, for instance, in terms of foreign policy,
02:10 Millet is closer to the Republican Party and he identifies himself with Donald Trump
02:15 and Jair Bolsonaro from Brazil. On the other hand, I think that Sergio Maza, who also claims for a
02:24 closer to the U.S. foreign policy, but he's more, he identifies with the Democratic Party of the U.S.
02:32 But both candidates are going to turn Argentina closer to Washington. In terms of economic
02:40 policy, of course, Javier Millet is a radical pro-market year. But Sergio Maza is a moderate,
02:49 even though he's now the Minister of Economy of the current government of Alberto Fernandez and
02:56 Cristina Kirchner. Maza also says that if he achieves the presidency, he's going to turn
03:05 the economy to a more pro-market place. So I think that no matter who wins, Argentina is going to
03:13 turn more to the center or the center-right, let's say. But of course, with two different
03:20 velocities, right, or speeds, because there is no doubt that Javier Millet is a more radical,
03:30 conservative, pro-market candidate. Professor, one question also. In your opinion,
03:38 how do you see these elections turning out? Who do you believe might be the winner on December
03:43 10th will be sworn in as president? It's so difficult to make a forecast.
03:49 The polls, the surveys have been saying until the last week that they were almost in a 50-50
03:59 outcome. Some polls, some surveys were giving Millet a small difference in favor, of course,
04:08 but they were not decisive or novel. My intuition is that Sergio Maza is a more professional
04:19 candidate, and he demonstrated a more, let's say, focused discourse and a more professional campaign.
04:29 But on the other hand, the truth is that the economy of Argentina is going through big problems.
04:37 Inflation is too high. We are almost at a 200% year inflation. Satisfaction with the
04:46 economic situation is quite low in Argentina. So the logic says that any opposition candidate
04:54 is playing with an advantage. I'm not sure about a more accurate forecast than that one, but
05:08 let's say that any opposition candidate, today it's Javier Millet, the one who is
05:15 leading the opposition, but any opposition candidate is closer to win in Argentina.
05:23 Professor, one last question. As you were saying, currently in Argentina,
05:27 the country is very divided in two blocks. So whoever wins will have to rule over that
05:34 divided country. How would that go? How difficult would it be to run the government,
05:38 whoever is elected today? I think in terms of governability,
05:43 as you were saying, Sergio Maza, the government candidate, has a more solid prospect,
05:53 because he's going to have, if he wins, bigger legislative blocks and more support
06:00 in territorial governments. While Javier Millet is an open question in terms of governability,
06:08 because he comes from a very, very new party with almost no legislative blocks and almost,
06:16 not almost, and with no territorial government on his side. So in terms of the future of
06:25 governance and governability, there is no doubt that Sergio Maza is more prepared.
06:30 Thank you, professor, for your time here from the South. It's a pleasure to have you
06:36 with us here today and to share your opinions on the matter.
06:40 Thank you. It was a pleasure.