Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, from PRO, won the Buenos Aires City mayoral election by 51,64% of the vote against 48,36% of his second-round rival, ECO’s Martín Lousteau.
Lousteau almost doubled the amount of votes he obtained between the first and second round of the election, capturing many of the votes from the parties that did not make it to the run-off —Frente Para la Victoria (FPV), Frente de Izquierda y los Trabajadores (FIT), and Autodeterminación y Libertad (AyL). There was also, however, a large increase in blank votes among those voters.
Whilst Rodríguez Larreta came first by broad margins in the northern comunas of the city, Lousteau won in nine of the 15 districts, in the south and centre. Voter turnout, at 69.38%, was slightly lower than in the first round.
Horacio Rodríguez cast his vote yesterday morning (photo courtesy of Horacio Rodríguez Larreta)
Presidential Impact
The celebrations at the traditional PRO election headquarters in Costa Salguero were less exultant than usual. Pre-election polls had suggested the difference between the first and second candidate was going to be of around ten points, so the final result was somewhat disappointing for the ruling party.
Mauricio Macri was also expecting a glowing result to officially launch his presidential campaign last night. Analysts generally agree that this lacklustre performance in the second round could complicate his chances in the October election. Still, Macri closed the event with a surprising speech in which he promised to keep some of the policies implemented by the Kirchnerist governments if elected president —policies his party traditionally opposed, such as the state management of pension funds, Aerolíneas Argentinas, and YPF.
Celebrations at the ECO campaign headquarters (photo courtesy of Fernando Sánchez)
There was a much more festive mood at the ECO election headquarters, as they celebrated a better result than anticipated, despite having lost. The activists who accompanied Lousteau at the Palermo venue also defended their leader’s decision not to abandon the race, as he had been pressured to not participate in the second round —even by members of his own alliance.
“We’re a footballing nation,” said Lousteau in his concession speech. “In football, the game ends with the result. In politics it’s the exact opposite, the game begins with the result. Citizenry gave someone the responsibility to be in government and they gave us the enormous responsibility of being in opposition; we will work to honour that commitment.”
The result was also celebrated by FPV’s presidential candidate Daniel Scioli, who called Lousteau to congratulate him on his performance. He also criticised Macri for his “contradictions”, as he highlighted national polities he “systematically voted against.”
“I sense this makes my candidacy much more trustworthy, predictable, and encouraging, as it is the genuine, original, coherent expression of these policies,” said the current Buenos Aires governor and candidate.
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