Macri Would Lose If Argentines Went to Polls Now: Survey

A survey conducted by an Argentine polling agency shows that incumbent and President Mauricio Macri is set to lose to former head of state Christina Fernandez in the country’s next elections to take place in October.

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M&R Associates/Query Argentina survey company that released its study on Tuesday found that if Argentines were to go to the polls Wednesday then current legislator Fernandez would win at least the first round of elections with 33.7 percent and Macri would receive 29.2 percent. M&R also found that Macri’s Cambiemos political party has a disapproval rating of 60 percent.

The poll shows that Fernandez would ultimately win the presidential ballots with 40 percent and Macri would come in with 38.9 percent in the second and final round.

Macri once enjoyed a 60 percent approval rating when he entered office in December 2015 promising to slash poverty and stabilize the economy. However, since taking oath, the president increasingly pushed austerity measures, slashing as many as 16,303 state jobs in 2018 alone, according to the Center for Political Economy (CEPA) based in Buenos Aires, and 32,000 jobs since December 2015, according to France 24.

Rather than decreasing poverty, Macri’s administration actually increased it to 33.6 percent by December 2018, giving Argentina its highest poverty level in eight years. Inflation rate has hovered around 50 percent for several months.

The administration’s slashing of subsidies, reducing entire ministries, selling off peso reserves, and taking out a US$ 56.3 billion loan from the highly unpopular International Monetary Fund (IMF) have all contributed to the president’s decreased chances at winning another term in eight months. Major union and social movement protests have taken place regularly in Argentina since late 2017 to demonstrate against the government's austerity measures and the IMF loan.