The first round of Argentina’s Presidential election takes place on 27 October 2019. There is great expectation that Argentina’s united left will win this important election. An electoral breakthrough for the left in Argentina, one of Latin America’s most influential countries, would significantly strengthen the left wing across the continent.
Aside from facing Donald Trump’s hostile US administration, the greatest challenge facing any incoming left government in Argentina will be attempting to resolve the country’s deep economic crisis. The overall economic situation facing the left throughout Latin America in 2019, a decade on from the international financial crash of 2008, is very different from the situation that faced the ‘Pink Wave’ when it arrived on the political scene in the early 2000s. Now, the situation is much more difficult, with a global economic slowdown and no prospect of a commodities boom. Developing alternative models to neoliberalism that are capable of eliminating poverty and raising living standards in this new economic reality is a crucial question facing the left.
The full version of this article can be read on The Canary where it was originally published on 16th October 2019: Left poised for an electoral comeback after Argentina’s neoliberal disaster
Eyes on Latin America 