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Parties flyers<\/p><\/div>\n
It all began on Sunday, August 11th<\/sup>, as the primarias abiertas, simult\u00e1neas y obligatorias<\/em> (PASO, for its Spanish acronym) were held in the South American nation with the aim of confirming which candidates would still be running for all the different offices submitted to this year\u2019s general elections, to be held on October 27th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n The primaries were supposed to be just a prescreening for all the candidatos<\/em> regarding their real winning chances, but it ended up being much more than that.<\/p>\n The Protagonists<\/strong><\/p>\n There are two main characters in the race for the Casa Rosada: Mauricio Macri, who has been President of the Republic since 2015, and running for re-election; and Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez, a former Cabinet chief \u2014 from 2003 to 2008 during N\u00e9stor Kirchner\u2019s entire mandate \u2014 who embodies today\u2019s political opposition.<\/p>\n Macri represents the restored credibility of Argentina\u2019s political and economic institutions, having earned the support of the international community. However, he failed at explaining his plans in an appropriate fashion and at fulfilling most of his economic promises, which has disappointed a significant portion of the electorate, who\u2019s been dealing with skyrocketing unemployment and inflation rates.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Fern\u00e1ndez stands for a populist, more unstable approach to power. Additionally, the presence of Cristina Kirchner as his candidate to the Vice-presidency has just served as a reminder of her own former presidency, after which she and many of her collaborators had been indicted in more than 10 serious corruption cases; but not even that fact has diminished her popularity or that of the political faction Frente de Todos.<\/p>\n That is why the resounding victory of Fern\u00e1ndez (47%) over Macri (32%), a probable result of the voto castigo<\/em> against the current administration, paved the way to a collective incertidumbre<\/em> that caused the financial sector to plunge and Argentina to appear on every headline worldwide.<\/p>\n Casa Rosada. Photo taken from Pixabay.<\/p><\/div>\n Consequences The economic repercussions at the PASO\u2019s results were felt as soon as the first official results were broadcasted: the nation\u2019s currency lost almost half its value against the US dollar; the riesgo pa\u00eds<\/em> went from 877 to more than 1,700, and the value of many Argentinean companies being listed on international stock markets tumbled down.<\/p>\n During the subsequent days, Macri\u2019s administration took measures to combat the current soaring inflation and crippling recession \u2014 freezing fuel prices and raising the minimum wage \u2014 in an effort to win back voters before October 27th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen what effect Macri\u2019s political measures will have on the preference that voters showed to Fern\u00e1ndez and his political formula. In the end, Argentineans will once more have the opportunity to choose their country\u2019s path: one going towards a market-friendly arena, the other to a reversal of its course.<\/p>\n Vocabs<\/strong><\/p>\n Alianza<\/strong>: Alliance<\/p>\n Campa\u00f1a<\/strong>: Campaign<\/p>\n Candidato<\/strong>: Candidate<\/p>\n Casa Rosada<\/strong>: the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina, known officially as Casa de Gobierno<\/em> (Government House)<\/p>\n Elecciones, comicios, votaci\u00f3n<\/strong>: Elections<\/p>\n Expectativa<\/strong>: Expectation<\/p>\n Incertidumbre<\/strong>: Uncertainty<\/p>\n PASO<\/strong>: Open, Simultaneous and Obligatory Primaries<\/p>\n Riesgo pa\u00eds<\/strong>: Country risk<\/p>\n Voto castigo<\/strong>: Protest vote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You have probably heard a lot about Argentina this week, as South America\u2019s second largest nation was \u201cthe thing\u201d of the week in global news. In this post I\u2019ll give you some key facts to better understand what\u2019s happening down here regarding politics and the local economy. I\u2019ll also introduce the most resounding words constantly…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/buenos-aires-245386_960_720-350x263.jpg\")
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