• Elections Javier Milei, the ultra-liberal candidate who captivated Argentina's youth
  • Argentinian Elections Massa Psychologically Dominates Milei in Huge Audience Presidential Debate in Argentina
  • Argentina, facing the most critical decision in 40 years of democratic life

In 1908, the Teatro Colón was inaugurated with Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. In 2023, from the orchestra pit, a violinist began to play the chords of the Peronist March in that same Colón theater. A lot has changed in Argentina in 115 years, but no one expected such a disruption in one of the world's great lyrical temples. It happened on Friday night, when the Colón was divided between support and boos for Javier Milei, the ultra-liberal populist candidate. Never before had anything like this happened, never before had politics entered the scene in that way there.

Hours after the Colón scandal, authorities confirmed the arrest of five people for serious threats on social media to Peronist candidate Sergio Massa and his family.

With these precedents, more than a few Argentines feared that this Sunday, when it is decided whether Milei is the president from December 10 or if Massa is elected, some things would get out of control. That was not the case: Argentina's electoral system has once again shown its solidity, and the speculation about fraud that has been unleashed in recent days by La Libertad Avanza (LLA), Milei's party, has proven to be unfounded.

"The elections are taking place normally, and that is also important after so many things that were raised," Massa said after voting at a school in Tigre, a city 30 kilometers north of Buenos Aires. "It's an extremely important election that defines what kind of country we're going to go through in the next four years."

Milei also highlighted the good progress of the elections that called 35.4 million Argentines to the polls.

"We're very calm, we've made all the effort we could make. Let the ballot boxes speak," said the populist ultra-liberal after voting at one of the headquarters of the National Technological University (UTN).


Milei smiled upon hearing that former President Mauricio Macri has pointed out that his polling station was missing LLA ballots. "Well, they might be inside the polls already!"

"We did an enormous job despite the campaign of fear and despite all the dirty campaign that has been done to us. Let's hope that tomorrow there will be more hope and not so much continuity of decline," added Milei, who most polls point to with a slight advantage ahead of the election.

The vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has voted in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz and has highlighted the fact that the presidency will be defined in a second round.

"It's the second time there's a second round in democracy, it's very strong, isn't it? Voting is done very quickly, so we hope to know the results very quickly as well," he added.


The electoral authorities' estimate is that a clear trend could be advanced around 21:00 p.m., Argentine time (1:00 a.m. on Monday in Spain).

Victoria Villarruel, the vice-presidential candidate of Milei, highlighted the audit work carried out this Sunday.

"What we take away from this campaign is the immense fervor of society to oversee, to control the elections. There are 16 or 17-year-olds who are voting for the first time and are collaborating with the audit," Villarruel said.

  • Argentina
  • America
  • Javier Milei
  • Mauricio Macri