A Journey to the Conservative Heart of Buenos Aires: A Vote for Miley by Declining

Three days after elections that turned Argentine society upside down, three women sunbathe on their backs in the Río de la Plata in Vicente López’s exclusive district on the northern outskirts of Buenos Aires. In that part of the province, far-right Javier Milei won 62% of the vote. The same happened in the so-called Northern Corridor, the most affluent part of the Argentine capital and neighboring province, which includes neighborhoods and districts from Recoleta, Palermo, Belgrano and Nunez to Olivos and San Isidro. In a country where 40% are poor, a large proportion of the richest people live there.

– “I support the army,” says a woman, trying to get comfortable in her chair.

– “You see. “I don’t know,” Marta jumps in, only one of the three willing to speak openly about her vote.

– “Yes, a close friend of my father-in-law Videla.”

Martha, no. He, unlike his entourage, voted for Sergio Massa, the Peronist candidate and current Economy Minister. “I have historical memory. I am an extremist, how can I vote for someone who rejects or criticizes dictatorship [Raúl] It was Alphonsine who brought us democracy. Martha talks about other concerns: that Miley will complicate the lives she leaves behind for retirees like her; It ends abortion rights, and Miley’s rejection of Vice President-elect Victoria Villarreal.

In lounge chairs like this, on tables in thousands of Argentinian homes, on the streets, there are discussions like this these days. Even in places like the northern region, votes were recorded in favor of Miley.

A traditional voter of the Republican Proposal (PRO), the party of Mauricio Macri and Patricia Bulrich, orphaned when he dropped out of the electoral contest, will never vote for Peronism. Lisandro Varela has been one of those voters for years. He is the creator of the portal 50 Argentinians say; He defined himself as a popular liberal and was press officer for former economy minister Domingo Cavallo, who replaced the peso with the dollar during the government of Peronist Carlos Menem. “Partly, Miley is president because of how the PRO has faded over the last eight years. “He was immersed in internal competition and didn’t talk much to the people,” says Varela.

He says it in Tabac, the bar that the mayor of Buenos Aires and former presidential candidate, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, frequents, and PRO is the most prestigious department. El Tabac is at the heart of one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the Argentine capital, surrounded by parks, museums, embassies and old mansions, and defined by its visceral opposition to Peronism. Varela voted for Fulrich in the first round, then “overcame some fears” and voted for Mili. “I was horrified by his lack of structure to face the barbaric opposition that Peronism would face. Argentina needs sober leadership. A Normal“We’re not here,” he explains, “and not just customers.”cheetos”, referring to the wealthy, they voted for Miley; The waiters, the kitchen staff, the staff of the place, one of them proudly confirms.

Doubts about the president-elect’s fanatical nature were among the issues that scared off many of the original Pro voters, but in the final weeks of the campaign, Millay began to appear calmer at the suggestion of former President Macri. He ended up winning them over, even though his hatred of Peronism was enough for many of them. “Most people vote for the other person not to be. Not because I really like this man who never ruled,” says Maria Luisa, 86, as she walks the streets of Olivos near the presidential palace. She was also left an orphan after Bullrich’s defeat – the PRO candidate won 49% of the vote in the North Corridor in the general election. ; Miley took 20.16% and shifted her vote to the extreme right, as many people her age did across the country. “I voted for Macri. [que ganó en 2015 y perdió la reelección en 2019] But these people [el peronismo] I take it out. Bullrich lost, I had no choice, how I was going to vote for them, impossible. “Now everything is a surprise.”

At Vicente López they closely follow Millay’s messages. The last thing that appeared on a television screen was the President of the United States, Joe Biden, calling him. Many breathe a sigh of relief. Traces of the campaign are almost impossible to find, there are no posters, advertising or campaign displays; The vote was absorbed there, and not just among the rich.

Mari Luce, owner of a stationery shop in the district’s commercial district, says she is “apolitical”. She is 70 years old, retired, but vows to continue the work, not voting out of fear, but out of faith. “It’s very rare in this region that someone voted for Sergio Massa. The government provided goods and programs to the most needy people in the south, where they succeeded. “Everything is bad: security, economy. What we have doesn’t work, that’s why we have to try what’s coming,” he says in front of his shop.

That sense of uncertainty is present at every step. “We’re already dancing, now we have to dance,” says Tomas Alis, a train security employee. He is 26 years old, from San Fernando and voted for Massa unlike his colleague Roberto Cáceres who voted for Miley. It’s a similar feeling to the Tabac bar in the most exclusive part of Palermo, where Lisandro Varela works and watches the country cross under Miley. “Today in Argentina we are in the hands of a man and the rain” that waters the fields, where Argentina’s main export product comes from.

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