The eccentric far-right populist Javier Milei has failed to win the first round of Argentina’s presidential election, with the centrist finance minister Sergio Massa unexpectedly beating his radical challenger.

Addressing hundreds of euphoric supporters at his campaign HQ, Massa gave a sober speech vowing to lead a national unity government that would kickstart “a new phase in Argentina’s political history”.

The result leaves Argentina poised for another month of profound uncertainty, economic turbulence and fake news before the showdown between Massa and Milei, a libertarian economist who only entered the world of politics when he was elected to congress in 2021.

Marcela Pagano, a television journalist running for a place in congress for La Libertad Avanza, predicted angry voters were poised to “boot out” the traditional politicians many blame for plunging 40% of citizens into poverty and triple-digit inflation.

Prominent members of South America’s extreme-right flew to Argentina hoping for a Milei triumph that would boost their movement after its leading light, Brazil’s Bolsonaro, lost power last year to the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October 2022.

Massa and his allies stepped up their campaign after Milei’s stunning victory in August’s primary – a dress rehearsal for the election – scrapping income tax for most citizens and seeking to distance themselves from former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

The original article contains 1,024 words, the summary contains 220 words. Saved 79%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!