Argentine Presidential Candidates Face Off in Debate
The men vying to be Argentina's next president, conservative mayor Mauricio Macri and center-left governor Daniel Scioli, squared off Sunday in their lone debate before the November 22 run-off election.
In a feisty encounter, Scioli sought to claw back the front-runner status he has lost since the October 25 first-round race, but neither candidate landed a knock-out punch and both appeared more interested in taking pot shots than answering moderators' questions.
Business favorite Macri, a former football executive who is now mayor of Buenos Aires, attacked the record of the past 12 years under President Cristina Kirchner and her late husband Nestor, asking Scioli, their would-be heir, "Daniel, why didn't you worry at all about inflation?"
Scioli, who served as Nestor Kirchner's vice president and is currently the governor of Buenos Aires province, fired back: "Mauricio, don't argue with a government that's on its way out."
The legacy of the Kirchner years has become increasingly heavy baggage for Scioli as the strong economic growth of the 2000s fades.
Today Argentina, Latin America's third-largest economy after Brazil and Mexico, is troubled by double-digit inflation, an overvalued currency and what the International Monetary Fund predicts will be a 0.7 percent contraction next year.
Scioli, 58, has promised to tweak the policies that need it while keeping the pro-poor and pro-working class programs of the past 12 years -- which he warned Macri would erase.
"Macri's proposals are a danger to the country," he said.
Macri, who appeared emboldened by his new front-runner status, told his opponent to "stop telling lies."
The 56-year-old conservative has vowed to safeguard the Kirchners' social programs but scrap their protectionist economic policies.
But neither candidate went into much detail despite moderators' efforts to draw them on the issues.
Scioli, a powerboating fanatic who lost his right arm in a 1989 racing accident, was the solid favorite for much of the campaign.
But in a result that surprised the pollsters, he won just 36.8 percent of the vote in the first round to 34.3 percent for Macri.
Macri's strong showing gave him the momentum, and he has since surged ahead in opinion polls: 46 percent to 40 percent in the latest survey published Saturday.
It found 11 percent of voters were still undecided.
Source: Agence France Presse
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