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Center-left Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez won Sunday's presidential election in Argentina in the first round, ahead of outgoing Liberal president Mauricio Macri, according to partial results. The vote took place while the country is shaken by a serious economic and social crisis.
Alberto Fernández's first case will be to renegotiate his country's huge $ 57 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The president will know how to talk to the institution, since he was already part of the team that renegotiated Argentina's debt after 2003.
Central Bank toughens foreign exchange controls
Weakened by fears of default, the peso, the Argentine currency, fell by nearly 6% the week before the vote to end at 65 pesos for one dollar. This tumble caused a rush of Argentines to the banks and bureaux de change to withdraw the dollars. The American currency is historically a safe haven for Argentines in the event of a crisis. To preserve the country's monetary reserves, the government of outgoing President Mauricio Macri has tightened the exchange controls in force.
According to Central Bank President Guido Sandleris' announcement, the maximum amount individuals can buy for savings purposes is now reduced to $ 200 a month. Since the primaries in August , Argentine savers have withdrawn some $ 12 billion from their accounts, or about 36.4% of the total.
► See also: Presidential elections in Argentina: a vote in the midst of the economic crisis
The economy is bloodless, the Argentinians exhausted
In recession for over a year, Argentina is experiencing high inflation (55% annual rate). GDP is in free fall, as is the purchasing power of Argentines, whose wages are stagnating elsewhere. Poverty is gaining ground (one in three Argentineans is poor), business closures are linked with its corollary of job losses and unemployment climbs (10%).
Some foreign investors, though eagerly awaited to pull the country out of the crisis, fear the return of the interventionist policies of the Kirchner years (from 2003 to 2015). They are particularly worried about the role that former President Cristina Kirchner could play. While his two mandates had allowed the poorest to access consumption, they also widened deficits without being able to revive the country's economy sustainably.
Ending the years of deprivation
Alberto Fernández is not less Peronist than he is the former director of cabinet. Will he be able to gather the Argentineans around a common project? Will it propose a more social and just model? In any case, this is what he intends to do, promising to " rekindle the economy ". To do this, we must start by lowering the exorbitant interest rates, which discourage any investment. The new president has promised to end the four years of deprivation. All without exploding public spending. His task is very difficult.