Argentina's nearly 36mn voters go to the polls on 19 November in the most divisive elections since the country returned to democracy 40 years ago.
The race pits finance minister Sergio Massa, of the ruling Union for the Homeland coalition, against right-wing congressman Javier Milei, of the Liberty Advances party. Whoever wins will replace president Alberto Fernandez, who opted against a second term.
The candidates offer vastly different visions on all major issues, with the starkest comparisons on the economic front, including the future motors of growth in the energy and mining sector.
Massa was the surprise victor in the first round of voting on 22 October with nearly 37pc of the vote. Milei placed second with just shy of 30pc. A minimum of 45pc was needed to win outright and avoid a runoff.
The candidates have appealed to fear in the final days of the race.
Milei has focused on the economic crisis under Fernandez. Massa has been finance minister since July 2022 and the economy is in tough shape, with inflation running at 120pc in the first 10 months of the year, and the economy contracting by 2.5pc in the second quarter of the year. The peso has lost 65pc of its value on the parallel market so far this year.
Milei has not been able to fully capitalize on the economic problems because his policy positions worry more traditional conservative voters. He has proposed dollarizing the economy, eliminating the central bank and privatizing state-owned enterprises, including the oil company, YPF, and energy company, Enarsa. He also threatened to break off diplomatic ties with Brazil and China, the country's largest trading partners.
The Massa campaign has stressed these controversial points to keep the race close. Nearly all of the 23 polls in the final week of the campaign were within the margin of error.
The next president, who will take office on 10 December, could see new tailwinds to make things easier. The country is ramping up monetization of the Vaca Muerta shale play with new pipeline infrastructure, and multiple lithium projects are underway. Most recently, the government announced a new $1.25bn Chinese investment in a new urea and NPK fertilizer plant.
Vaca Muerta holds 308 trillion cf of shale gas and 16bn blsof shale oil. Argentina has an estimated 20mn t of lithium resources, the second largest in the world.
