By Walter Bianchi
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s two main political forces won regional elections, results showed on Monday morning, but candidates for a new libertarian party that has shaken up the political landscape fell behind.
Sunday’s vote in three northern provinces came months before national primaries in August and a general election in October in which both the ruling Peronism and the conservative opposition bloc lack a firm leader amid disputes. an economic crisis.
Peronists celebrated a victory in the gubernatorial race in Tucumán province, while conservatives prevailed in San Luis for the first time in 40 years. They also won in the Mendoza wine region.
Libertarian Javier Milei, who wants to dollarize the economy and kill off the central bank, has been sounding hard, threatening to overturn the political status quo, though the far-right economist faces a challenge from centrist voters.
Candidates allied to Milei, who individually is leading in some opinion polls ahead of the presidential election, were well below pace in all three provinces. The conservative opposition leads overall in opinion polls for the presidential election.
In the legislative elections in the province of Corrientes, which elected deputies and local councilors, allied candidates from the opposition bloc Juntos por el Cambio won, while the results were balanced in the mayoral elections in the center of Córdoba.
Argentina is fighting against inflation that could end the year close to 150%, depleting central bank reserves that are jeopardizing the state’s ability to make payments, 40% poverty and the impact of a recent historic drought on the grain exports.
(Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Angus MacSwan)