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On Thursday 19 October, Canning House held a seminar in London to discuss the upcoming elections in Argentina, with the first round of voting taking place on Sunday 22 October.
On Thursday 19 October, Canning House held a seminar in London to discuss the upcoming elections in Argentina, with the first round of voting taking place on Sunday 22 October.
The event’s distinguished panel of speakers featured David Rock, Professor Emeritus at University of California Santa Barbara; Ramiro Blazquez, Head of Research and Strategy at BancTrust & Co.; Ezequiel Gonzalez-Ocantos, Professor of Comparative & Judicial Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow, Nuffield College; and Ingrid Bleynat, Senior Lecturer in International Development at King's College London.
Following words of welcome by Jeremy Browne, CEO of Canning House, and Baroness Hooper CMG, Honorary Vice-President of Canning House and The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Panama, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, the four panellists offered opening remarks.
David began proceedings with a wide-ranging overview of the modern history of Argentina’s politics and economics, providing the necessary context for the discussion of this pivotal election. Ramiro delved into an economic outlook for the country, about which he personally was optimistic – though acknowledged others may choose to take his insights with a pinch of salt. Ezequiel considered positions presented by the latest polling figures, and discussed the apparent disruption to “la grieta” – the so-called “fault line” between Peronism and anti-Peronism in Argentine politics. Finally, Ingrid spoke on the challenges ahead for any winner in these elections, such as Argentina’s debt burden, its need to attract investment, and the prevalence of precarious, informal employment.
Jeremy, chairing the discussion, asked each panellist for their election predictions – with their broad range of answers reflecting the still-wide-open race ahead for the three presidential front-runners: Javier Milei, Sergio Massa, and Patricia Bullrich.
The discussion was then opened to questions from the audience. These covered topics including Argentina’s presence on the international stage, prospects for business-oriented reform within a winner’s first term in office, the nature of populism in Argentina, and the governance effects of scenarios for the Argentine Congress.
Canning House thanks our panel for their lively and insightful discussion, and our audience for their questions and interest.
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