Argentina: A Change of Course

Briefing 25-11-2015

On 22 November 2015, Mauricio Macri, candidate of a coalition named 'Let's change' (Cambiemos), was elected president of Argentina. He will assume office on 10 December. Macri received 51.4 % of the vote in the second round of the presidential elections. His election ends 12 years of Peronist governments. Macri's victory owes much to the high number of votes he received in urban centres, particularly in the capital Buenos Aires and the second largest city, Córdoba. Despite Macri's final victory in the presidential elections, the 25 October parliamentary and provincial polls showed that the Peronist movement remains the principal political force. After the 25 October Congress elections, the Front for Victory (Frente para la Victoria, FpV), currently in government, remains the largest bloc in the new Congress, although it lost its absolute majority in the Chamber of Deputies. Macri faces the challenge of mobilising support in Congress for the new government's legislative proposals. The most likely scenario is that he will try to establish a coalition with the Peronist factions opposed to President Cristina Fernández and the FpV. The new government is likely to take measures to liberalise and open up the economy. The new government will seek strengthened links with the USA and the EU, and may well push for trade liberalisation in Mercosur. Macri has announced that he will ask for Mercosur's 'democratic clause' to be invoked against Venezuela. Macri has stressed the need to advance towards a Mercosur-EU free trade agreement. Overall, the change of government appears an opportunity for renewed relations between the EU and Argentina.