Argentina's former President Cristina Fernández has announced her candidacy for vice president in October's general elections.

In a video posted on on Saturday, Fernández said that former cabinet chief Alberto Fernández will lead the ticket.

"I have asked Alberto Fernández to head the formula that we will integrate together, he as a presidential candidate and I as a vice presidential candidate," she said.

Alberto Fernández served as chief of staff from 2003 to 2007 for Fernández's predecessor and late husband, Néstor Kirchner. He remained in that position during a portion of Fernández's term as president from 2007 to 2015.

Alberto Fernández will challenge conservative President Mauricio Macri, who has seen his popularity ratings plummet due to high inflation. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentina's former President Cristina Fernández has announced her candidacy for vice president in October's general elections.

In a video posted on Twitter on Saturday, Fernández said that former cabinet chief Alberto Fernández will lead the ticket.

"I have asked Alberto Fernández to head the formula that we will integrate together, he as a presidential candidate and I as a vice presidential candidate," she said.

Alberto Fernández served as chief of staff from 2003 to 2007 for Fernández's predecessor and late husband, Néstor Kirchner. He remained in that position during a portion of Fernández's term as president from 2007 to 2015.

Alberto Fernández will challenge conservative President Mauricio Macri, who has seen his popularity ratings plummet due to high inflation.

In this handout photo provided by the Unidad Ciudadana political party, former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez smiles as she officially present her book "Sincerely," during the Buenos Aires book fair in Argentina, Thursday, May 9, 2019. The presentation of her memoirs has become a best-seller since its release. (Unidad Ciudadana via AP ) </s> Presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez addresses supporters at the “Frente de Todos” party headquarters after primary elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019. The “Frente de Todos” presidential ticket with former President Cristina Fernández emerged as the strongest vote-getter in Argentina’s primary elections Sunday, indicating conservative President Mauricio Macri will face an uphill battle going into general elections in October. (AP Photo/Sebastian Pani)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine stocks and currency plummeted on Monday after Argentine President Mauricio Macri was snubbed by voters who appeared to hand a resounding primary victory to a populist ticket with his predecessor, Cristina Fernández.

The preliminary results from Sunday’s voting suggest the conservative Macri will face an uphill battle going into general elections in October and gives the populists who governed Argentina and butted heads with investors for most of the past two decades a strong chance of returning to power.

The result stunned financial markets which remember Cristina Fernández’s 2007-2015 government when she nationalized Spanish oil company Repsol’s stake in local company YPF, took over the private pension system and intervened heavily in the economy with exports restrictions and currency controls.

About a third of the Argentine companies that trade in U.S. markets lost half of their value Monday, but losses were extreme across the board with the Merval index dropping by 35% in mid-afternoon trading.

With 99% of polling stations tallied early Monday, official results gave the presidential slate headed by Alberto Fernández and his vice presidential running mate, Cristina Fernández, about 48% of the votes in a primary vote featuring 10 candidates. Macri and his running mate, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, had 32% — a wide margin that revealed the depth of Macri’s weakness, potentially positioning the Fernández team to win in the first round of a general election voting on Oct. 27.

To be elected president in the first round, candidates need to finish with at least 45% of the votes or have 40% and a greater than 10-point advantage over the nearest rival. If no candidate wins outright in October, there will be a November runoff.

“We’ve had a bad election and that obliges us to redouble our efforts so that in October we will continue with change,” Macri said in a late-night address. “I think it is very important a dialogue continues in this country, and that we continue explaining to the world what it is we want.”

Former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna trailed far behind the two front-running slates with 8.4% of the votes, which is still potentially enough support to give him a kingmaker role in the fall.

The election functioned largely as a poll for the October vote. All of the parties already had their candidates chosen and the only practical result was to eliminate a few minor parties that got less than 1.5% of the overall votes from upcoming general election.

The pro-business Macri has the support of financial markets and Washington, but lost popularity amid a deep economic crisis that drove the inflation rate to nearly 50% last year. He says he is taking the necessary, painful steps to get the economy going after 12 years of leftist populism under Cristina Fernández and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner.

But his pleas for patience while his economic reforms take affect fell on largely deaf ears as Argentines battle rising poverty and high inflation. A recent lending package from the International Monetary Fund that totaled upward of $55 billion was unpopular. Most Argentines blame the IMF for encouraging policies that led to the country’s worst economic crisis in 2001.

“It’s clear that Macri’s weakest point is the management of the economy, despite the fact that it has improved in the last three months,” said Mariel Fornoni, director of the political consultancy Management & Fit.

The Fernández ticket, whose two members are not related, contends Macri must be defeated so they can fight rising poverty and homelessness.

Alberto Fernández, who was Cristina Fernández’s chief of staff during her initial term in 2007-2011, expressed satisfaction with Sunday’s result and blamed Macri for the current market unrest.

“The markets are uneasy because of the situation created by this government,” Alberto Fernández told Radio 10. “All Argentines will accompany this effort but it is his responsibility.”

Cristina Fernández is currently facing a series of trials for corruption during her 2007-2015 administration. She denies the allegations.

In a recorded message from the southern province of Santa Cruz, she said Sunday’s results made her Frente de Todos — Front of All — party “happy and optimistic.”

“But not only because we won an election. This is not a soccer game. Many Argentines understood and understand that things must change in the Republic of Argentina because as we are not living well, we are not OK,” she said.

The possibility that Cristina Fernández could return to power – if only as vice president – stunned markets.

Grupo Financiero Galicia, a century-old financial services company in Buenos Aires with a market capitalization of $2.5 billion, plunged 60%. All banks were hit hard, but so were companies that do construction or provide infrastructure services.

The value of Loma Negra, an industrial services company that makes cement and provides railroad transportation services, tumbled 60% as well. More than 40% of the existing worth of the energy company Transportadora de Gas del Sur disappeared.

Matías Carugati, chief economist for Management & Fit, said the victory of the Fernández team would put “sustained” pressure on the exchange rate and stocks due to the prospect that the South American’s recent less state-interventionist course could be reversed.

Macri’s election in 2015 marked the first time in a more than a decade that Argentina’s center-right opposition had unseated the center-left Peronist movement to which Cristina Fernández belongs.

At the time, his victory appeared to signal an end to his rival’s rule, but he conceded that Sunday’s results put him on the defensive.

“This is an election where Argentina has to determine whether it continues on a path of transformation, of deepening democracy, of insertion into the world, of improvement and development — or returns to an authoritarian populist model that has failed in all places where it has been implemented,” he said. </s> Presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez addresses supporters at the “Frente de Todos” party headquarters after primary elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019. The “Frente de Todos” presidential ticket with former President Cristina Fernández emerged as the strongest vote-getter in Argentina’s primary elections Sunday, indicating conservative President Mauricio Macri will face an uphill battle going into general elections in October. (AP Photo/Sebastian Pani)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine stocks and currency plummeted on Monday after Argentine President Mauricio Macri was snubbed by voters who appeared to hand a resounding primary victory to a populist ticket with his predecessor, Cristina Fernández.

The preliminary results from Sunday’s voting suggest the conservative Macri will face an uphill battle going into general elections in October and gives the populists who governed Argentina for most of the past two decades a strong chance of returning to power.

About a third of the Argentinian companies that trade in U.S. markets lost half of their value Monday, but losses were extreme across the board.

With 88% of polling stations tallied early Monday, official results gave the presidential slate headed by Alberto Fernández and his vice presidential running mate, Cristina Fernández, about 47% of the votes in a primary vote featuring 10 candidates. Macri and his running mate, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, had 32% — a wide margin that revealed the considerable depth of Macri’s weakness, potentially positioning the Fernández team to win in the first round of a general election voting on Oct. 27.

To be elected president in the first round, candidates need to finish with at least 45% of the votes or have 40% and a greater than 10-point advantage over the nearest rival. If no candidate wins outright in October, there will be a November runoff.

“We’ve had a bad election and that obligates us to redouble our efforts so that in October we will continue with change,” Macri said in a late-night address. “I think it is very important a dialogue continues in this country, and that we continue explaining to the world what it is we want.”

Former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna trailed far behind the two front-running slates with 8.4% of the votes, which is still potentially enough support to give him a kingmaker role in the fall.

The election functioned largely as a poll for the October vote. All of the parties already had their candidates chosen and the only practical result was to eliminate a few minor parties that got less than 1.5% of the overall votes from upcoming general election.

The pro-business Macri has the support of financial markets and Washington, but has lost popularity amid a deep economic crisis that drove the inflation rate to nearly 50% last year and slashed Argentines’ purchasing power. He says he is taking the necessary, painful steps to get the economy going after 12 years of leftist populism under Cristina Fernández and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner.

But the electorate issued a resounding rejection of his handling of the economic situation — and a recent lending package from the International Monetary Fund that totaled upward of $55 billion. Most Argentines blame the IMF for encouraging policies that led to the country’s worst economic crisis in 2001, which resulted in one of every five Argentines being unemployed and millions sliding into poverty.

“It’s clear that Macri’s weakest point is the management of the economy, despite the fact that it has improved in the last three months,” said Mariel Fornoni, director of the political consultancy Management & Fit.

The Fernández ticket, whose two members are not related, contends Macri must be defeated so they can fight the poverty and homelessness that they blame on his policies.

“We always fixed problems that others generated. We are going to do it once again,” said Alberto Fernández, who was Cristina Fernández’s chief of staff during her initial term in 2007-2011.

Cristina Fernández is currently facing a series of trials for corruption during her 2007-2015 administration. She denies the allegations.

In a recorded message from the southern province of Santa Cruz, she said Sunday’s results made her Frente de Todos — Front of All — party “happy and optimistic.”

“But not only because we won an election — This is not a soccer game. Many Argentines understood and understand that things must change in the Republic of Argentina because as we are not living well, we are not OK,” she said.

The possibility that Cristina Fernández could return to power stunned markets.

Grupo Financiero Galicia, a century-old financial services company in Buenos Aires with a market capitalization of $2.5 billion, plunged 60%. All banks were hit hard, but so were companies that do construction or provide vital infrastructure services.

The value of Loma Negra, an industrial services company that makes cement and provides railroad transportation services, tumbled 60% as well. More than 40% of the existing worth of the energy company Transportadora de Gas del Sur disappeared.

Matías Carugati, chief economist for Management & Fit, said the victory of the Fernández team would put “sustained” pressure on the exchange rate and stocks due to the prospect that the South American’s recent free, less state-interventionist course could be reversed.

Macri’s election in 2015 marked the first time in a more than a decade that Argentina’s center-right opposition had unseated the center-left Peronist movement to which Cristina Fernández belongs.

At the time, his victory appeared to signal a clear end to his rival’s rule, but he conceded that Sunday’s results put him on the defensive.

“This is an election where Argentina has to determine whether it continues on a path of transformation, of deepening democracy, of insertion into the world, of improvement and development — or returns to an authoritarian populist model that has failed in all places where it has been implemented,” he said. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina’s former President Cristina Fernández announced on Saturday her candidacy for vice president in October’s general elections, a surprising move that now puts a more moderate challenger at the helm of the presidential ticket.

In a video posted on Twitter on Saturday, Fernández said that Alberto Fernández, who leads the left-leaning Unidad Ciudadana political party, will run for the presidency against conservative President Mauricio Macri.

“I have asked Alberto Fernández to head the formula that we will integrate together, he as a presidential candidate and I as a vice presidential candidate,” Fernández said. “I am convinced that this formula that we are proposing is the one that best expresses what Argentina needs at this moment to summon the broadest social and political and economic sectors.”

Alberto Fernández served as chief of staff from 2003 to 2007 for Fernández’s predecessor and late husband, Néstor Kirchner. He remained in the position during a portion of Fernández’s term as president from 2007 to 2015, but left the post after a steep economic crisis took hold.

Some polls have suggested Fernández could defeat Macri in a second round of voting, but it is unclear how those prospects will change now that Fernández has thrown her hat in the ring as a vice presidential candidate. While many had assumed she would run for the top post, Fernández’s decision to pursue the position of second-in-command reflects possible doubts over whether she was best positioned to challenge Macri in light of a series of looming corruption trials.

Argentina’s Supreme Court has said the first corruption trial against Fernández could start as early as next week, despite a judicial order that her opponents feared could delay the trial into the presidential campaign season or beyond.

Fernández has been accused of taking bribes in exchange for public work contracts, but denies wrongdoing and says lower courts did not allow her to present more witnesses.

In separate cases, she faces several formal investigations into allegations of bribery, money laundering and criminal association during her administration and that of Kirchner.

Still, many voters are frustrated by an inflation rate that reached 47.6% last year, the highest since 1991, and a decision by Macri’s government to slash subsidies on utilities and public transportation.

In April, the Argentine peso hit a record low due to investors’ growing distrust of the conservative president’s economic management.

Macri says he underestimated the macroeconomic imbalances inherited from his populist predecessor, center-left Fernández.

Fernández, 66, was known for her interventionist and populist policies while in office. Some credit her for leading the country out of an economic crisis, while others blame her for creating its current woes.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's former President Cristina Fernández announced on Saturday her candidacy for vice president in October's general elections, a surprising move that now puts a more moderate challenger at the helm of the presidential ticket.

In a video posted on Twitter on Saturday, Fernández said that Alberto Fernández, of the left-leaning Unidad Ciudadana political party, will run for the presidency against conservative President Mauricio Macri.

"I have asked Alberto Fernández to head the formula that we will integrate together, he as a presidential candidate and I as a vice presidential candidate," Fernández said. "I am convinced that this formula that we are proposing is the one that best expresses what Argentina needs at this moment to summon the broadest social and political and economic sectors."

Alberto Fernández served as chief of staff from 2003 to 2007 for Fernández's predecessor and late husband, Néstor Kirchner. He remained in the position during a portion of Fernández's term as president from 2007 to 2015, but left after a steep economic crisis took hold.

In announcing her vice presidential bid, Fernández said that she was "convinced that personal expectation or ambition must be subordinated to the general interest," and called the country's current economic situation "dramatic."

"Never (have there been) so many sleeping in the street. Never so many with problems about food, about work," she said.

Some polls have suggested Fernández could defeat Macri in a second round of voting, but it is unclear how those prospects will change now that Fernández has thrown her hat in the ring in a lesser capacity. While many had assumed she would run for the top post, her decision to pursue the position of second-in-command reflects possible doubts over whether she is best positioned to challenge Macri directly in light of a series of looming corruption trials.

Argentina's Supreme Court has said the first corruption trial against Fernández could start as early as next week, despite a judicial order that her opponents feared could delay the trial into the presidential campaign season or beyond.

Fernández has been accused of taking bribes in exchange for public work contracts, but denies wrongdoing and says lower courts did not allow her to present more witnesses. In separate cases, she faces several formal investigations into allegations of bribery, money laundering and criminal association during her administration and that of Kirchner.

Still, many voters are frustrated by an inflation rate that reached 47.6% last year, the highest since 1991, and a decision by Macri's government to slash subsidies on utilities and public transportation. In April, the Argentine peso hit a record low due to growing distrust of the conservative president's economic management.

Macri says he underestimated the macroeconomic imbalances inherited from his populist predecessor, center-left Fernández. He has also argued that correcting them became more difficult when Argentina's worst drought in decades deprived his government of much-needed farm export revenue.

At a political meeting on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, he appeared to respond to the announcement by saying that "going back to the past would be self-destruction."

Fernández, 66, was known for her interventionist and populist policies while in office. Some credit her for leading the country out of an economic crisis, while others blame her for creating its current woes. But in announcing the presidential candidacy of her running mate, she appeared to be the one who could effectively pull the ticket's strings going forward.

Mariel Fornoni, director of the political consultancy Management and Fit, said that voters who were somewhat apprehensive of Fernández could be more willing to vote for the Unidad Ciudadana party with Alberto Fernández as the leader and Fernández as the vice presidential candidate.

"It seems to me that all this is aimed at a more moderate voter," Fornoni said, noting that Alberto Fernández is praised by some for his work during Kirchner's administration. "Painting him as Nestor's chief of staff when we left the crisis is associated with having someone with experience."

Since leaving office, Alberto Fernández has been critical of his current running mate — going so far as to even oversee the campaigns of her political opponents.

Fernández said in her video message Saturday that she had known Alberto Fernández for 20 years, but admitted there had been "differences" between them.

Alberto Fernández did not comment publicly on her announcement, but appeared to confirm his candidacy on Twitter by saying that he would help make "the country that all Argentines deserve," and would "return dignity to millions."

Roberto Bacman, of the Center for Public Opinion Studies, said that the former chief of staff "has another profile," which is not "the profile of someone from Cristina's central core who strictly repeats everything she says."

The ticket, he said, "totally changes the direction of electoral politics, the electoral hypothesis and the measurements that had been made so far." </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Facing widespread discontent over austerity measures and low growth, Argentine President Mauricio Macri was snubbed by voters who appeared to hand a resounding primary victory to a ticket with his predecessor, Cristina Fernández.

The preliminary results from Sunday's voting suggest the conservative Macri will face an uphill battle going into general elections in October, marking a sharp turnaround from just under four years ago when the country's left-leaning era appeared to be coming to a definitive end.

With 88% of polling stations tallied early Monday, official results gave the presidential slate headed by Alberto Fernández and his vice presidential running mate, Cristina Fernández, about 47% of the votes. Macri and his running mate, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, had 32% — a wide margin that revealed the considerable depth of Macri's weakness, potentially positioning the Fernández team to win in the first round of voting Oct. 27.

To be elected president in the first round, candidates need to finish with at least 45% of the votes or have 40% and a greater than 10-point advantage over the nearest rival. If no candidate wins outright in October, there will be a November runoff.

"We've had a bad election and that obligates us to redouble our efforts so that in October we will continue with change," Macri said in a late night address. "I think it is very important a dialogue continues in this country, and that we continue explaining to the world what it is we want."

Former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna trailed far behind the two front-running slates with 8.4% of the votes, which is still potentially enough support to give him a kingmaker role in the fall. Six other presidential slates also were up for elections in the primaries, but parties that got less than 1.5% of the overall votes cast won't appear on the October ballot.

The pro-business Macri has the support of financial markets and Washington, but has lost popularity amid a deep economic crisis which drove the inflation rate to nearly 50% last year and slashed Argentines' purchasing power. He says he is taking the necessary, painful steps to get the economy going after 12 years of leftist populism under Cristina Fernández and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner.

But the electorate issued a resounding rejection of his handling of the economic situation — and a recent lending package from the International Monetary Fund that totaled upward of $55 billion. Most Argentines blame the IMF for encouraging policies that led to the country's worst economic crisis in 2001, which resulted in one of every five Argentines being unemployed and millions sliding into poverty.

"It's clear that Macri's weakest point is the management of the economy, despite the fact that it has improved in the last three months," said Mariel Fornoni, director of the political consultancy Management & Fit.

The Fernández ticket, whose two members are not related, contends Macri must be defeated so they can fight the poverty and homelessness that they blame on his policies.

"We always fixed problems that others generated. We are going to do it once again," said Alberto Fernández, who was Cristina Fernández's chief of staff during her initial term in 2007-2011.

Cristina Fernández is currently facing a series of trials for corruption during her 2007-2015 administration. She denies the allegations.

In a recorded message from the southern province of Santa Cruz, she said Sunday's results made her Frente de Todos party "happy and optimistic."

"But not only because we won an election — this is not a soccer game. Many Argentines understood and understand that things must change in the Republic of Argentina because as we are not living well, we are not OK," she said.

The possibility that Cristina Fernández could return to power put markets on edge. Matías Carugati, chief economist for Management & Fit, said the victory of the Fernández team would put new, "sustained" pressure on the exchange rate and stocks due to the prospect that the South American's recent free, less state interventionist course could be reversed.

Macri's election in 2015 marked the first time in a more than a decade that Argentina's center-right opposition successfully unseated the center-left Peronist movement to which Cristina Fernández belongs.

At the time, his victory appeared to signal a clear end to his rival's rule, but he conceded that Sunday's results put him on the defensive.

"This is an election where Argentina has to determine whether it continues on a path of transformation, of deepening democracy, of insertion into the world, of improvement and development — or returns to an authoritarian populist model that has failed in all places where it has been implemented," he said. </s> The country will go to the polls for primary elections on Aug. 11 ahead of the national ballot in October, seen as a referendum on the austerity politics of center-right incumbent President Mauricio Macri amid a tight economic malaise.

The primary covers candidates for president, some provincial governors and national legislators.

The two main presidential candidates – strait-laced conservative Macri and center-left rival Alberto Fernandez – are seen in a tight race to the finish. Fernandez, the moderate Peronist challenger, is expected to come out ahead in the more symbolic primaries.

Argentine voters will choose among 10 presidential candidates, though the main political parties have all already established their runners, making the primaries, known as the PASO, more of a giant poll on how political rivals are faring.

“It’s going to be a rehearsal of the real action, giving key data for the campaigns, for citizens and investors,” said Buenos Aires-based political analyst Sergio Berensztein.

“We’re going to get a lot of insights about voting behavior for the election. Particularly for markets it’s important. If it’s close, there’ll be rally, sovereign bonds etc. If Fernandez wins by a good margin, we might have a sell-off.”

The primaries foreshadow the main general election on Oct. 27 to choose a president, along with senators and deputies who make up the country’s two chambers of Congress. Key positions in Buenos Aires city and province are also on the table.

In order to win the presidency in the first round, a candidate needs at least 45% of the vote or 40% and a difference of 10 percentage points over the second place runner. If there’s no clear winner, voters will return for a run-off on Nov. 24.

Pollsters are split about who would win a head-to-head between Macri and Fernandez. Fernandez with his running mate, ex-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is tapping into discontent over the economy in the recession-hit country.

So, who are the main players and what do they stand for?

MAURICIO MACRI, PRESIDENT – The son of one of the most powerful businessmen in Argentina, Macri took the presidency in 2015 with a center-right alliance that said it would shake up the political status quo and right the economy by creating more transparency and opening the country to international markets.

Despite his market-friendly credentials, his popularity with voters has been hit hard, however, by an economic crisis that has seen the peso plunge and annual inflation at above 50%.

MIGUEL ANGEL PICHETTO, VICE PRESIDENT – Pichetto is a long-standing Peronist, who appeared to be in the opposition camp until being confirmed as Macri’s No. 2. The senator should help Macri expand his electoral alliance and marks a strategic shift towards the middle-ground for the president to help take on the rival Fernandez-Fernandez ticket.

MARIA EUGENIA VIDAL, BUENOS AIRES GOVERNOR – Vidal, often seen by Macri’s side on the campaign trail, is a key figure in the election race. One of the most popular politicians with voters, there was talk earlier in the year that the coalition could turn to her as a presidential candidate.

ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, PRESIDENT – A savvy political operator and the former chief of staff for former Presidents Nestor Kirchner and Cristina Fernadez de Kirchner, Fernandez emerged from the shadows to become the unexpected main challenger to Macri in May.

A university law professor and a moderate with the country’s nebulous Peronist political flank, Fernandez is known as a consensus builder who should temper the more divisive style of his higher-profile running mate, ex-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

CRISTINA FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER, VICE PRESIDENT – The main surprise the elections have thrown up so far is that Fernandez de Kirchner, who ran the country from 2007-2015, is not at the top of the ticket to take on Macri.

The sitting senator, who is loved and despised by voters in near equal measure, is facing court cases linked to allegations of corruption, which she strongly denies. The ex-leader has an ardent core following and commands rock-star crowds at events, including on her current book tour.

However, many in the country – especially from the more affluent middle class – dislike her brand of militant populism and worry that she would have an oversized influence on policy behind the scenes. As president, she rolled out heavy subsidies, higher taxes on farm exports and currency controls.

AXEL KICILLOF, BUENOS AIRES GOVERNOR – The former economy minister under ​​Fernández de Kirchner, Kicillof has a past as a student militant. A professor and researcher of the theories of John Maynard Keynes and Karl Marx, he promoted the nationalization of the Argentine oil company YPF in 2012.

ROBERTO LAVAGNA, PRESIDENT – Lavagna is an economist and was economy minister under Néstor Kirchner, the late husband and predecessor of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. His campaign had looked to capture the votes of those unhappy with Macri and Fernández, but polls show that the “crack” – as the Argentines call the strong polarization between the two main parties – has hit his chances.

JUAN MANUEL URTUBEY, VICE PRESIDENT – The governor of northern Salta, who himself had nurtured ambitions to run for the top job, is a centrist Peronist who had advocated for a more moderate “non-Kirchnerist” opposition to defeat Macri.

EDUARDO BUCCA, BUENOS AIRES GOVERNOR – A doctor and current national deputy, Bucca will fight in the most populous district of the country but with only a slim outside chance of winning, according to the consensus amongst pollsters. </s> After months of negative news for the government of President Mauricio Macri, and his aspirations for re-election, it seems as if fate is beginning to turn around. With the electoral season in full swing, the final registration of candidacies came down to the wire. With the announcement of Senator Miguel Ángel Pichetto as his running-mate a few weeks ago, and the confirmation of Renewal Front leader Sergio Massa’s return to Kirchnerism, both markets and poll numbers have moved favorably for the president. With the three major electoral alliances already in the books, the major battlelines have been drawn.

Leaked polling numbers from political consultancy firm Isonomía made the rounds on social media a few weeks ago, indicating solid gains for Macri. According to the figures, which were part of a private study that Isonomía did not publish but the authenticity of which it confirmed, indicated President Macri’s approval ratings jumped from to 43 percent, from 33 percent in previous surveys, while his disapproval figures dropped from 65 percent to 57 percent. What makes Isonomía’s figures all that more relevant is it was the same firm that had released the fateful April 18th report indicating Cristina Fernández de Kirchner would take the election in a runoff, sparking a run on the peso and a spike in the riesgo país index which measures the spread between Argentine sovereign bonds and their US counterparts.

Another key insight for the government’s political aspirations is Fernández de Kirchner’s own figures which have been slumping since announcing Alberto Fernández as the presidential candidate on her ticket. If the election were the day of the surveys, 36 percent of the electorate would support the former two-term president, compared with 34 percent for Macri. In April, the spread showed a nine percentage points differential, giving Fernandez de Kirchner a clear lead. If the runoff were the day of the surveys, though, the Fernández-Fernández ticket was still projected to win by two points with 45 percent of the vote, with 12 percent still undecided or unwilling to vote for either candidate.

As expected, the last few weeks have been positive for the government, but continue to indicate that the situation will be extremely fluid. While the initial reaction to Fernández de Kirchner’s decision to take a supporting role as the vice-presidential candidate did not appear to hurt her chances, the final deflation of the “third way” supposedly represented by the Alternativa Federal (Federal Alternative) coalition has set up an electoral campaign marked by polarization between macristas and cristinistas, and a progressive move toward the center by both major parties. As Massa sided with the Kirchnerites and Pichetto with Macri, Alternativa Federal was hollowed out from the inside, with former Economy minister Roberto Lavagna teaming up with Salta province governor, Juan Manuel Urtubey, a Peronist.

Yet, as the market looked on positively at Pichetto’s candidacy, and the dollar-peso exchange rate remained under control, Macri had reasons to celebrate. The latest inflation figures, for the month of May, showed further deceleration from 3.4 percent to 3.1 percent, a trend which is expected to continue. While it is too early to speak of green shoots, certain macroeconomic indicators could point toward a tepid recovery.

This article was originally published in The Buenos Aires Times, Argentina's only English-language newspaper.
Former Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Alberto Fernández gains a 15% lead over incumbent President Mauricio Macri in Argentina's primaries.