Jorge Macri becomes BA City mayor after Leandro Santoro drops out

The UxP candidate said it would be ‘unwise’ to go to a run-off considering his slim chances of winning

Jorge Macri (Juntos por el Cambio, JxC) will become the new mayor of Buenos Aires City after Leandro Santoro (Unión por la Patria, UxP) announced on Tuesday that he will drop out of the run-off set for November 19. 

According to Sunday’s provisional tally, Macri got 49.6% of the vote, just shy of the 50% required to become BA City mayor. Santoro came in second with 32.2%, which led to the planned run-off. The definitive vote count is currently underway. 

“Our records show that Macri’s result will be only a few votes away from reaching the threshold required by the city’s constitution to become mayor,” Santoro said in a statement signed by his running mate, Barbara Rossen, and other UxP candidates. “A realistic assessment of these electoral results […] lead us to believe that it would be unwise to force a run-off.” 

The city run-off was scheduled for November 19, the same day as the presidential second round between UxP’s Sergio Massa and Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza (LLA). This means that BA City residents will only have to vote once that day. 

One of the reasons given by Santoro in the letter is precisely the fact that Milei has “explicitly” endorsed Jorge Macri, adding that the “proper strategy” at this time is to “defend democracy against the threat of authoritarianism” and help Sergio Massa win the most amount of votes in Buenos Aires City and thus win the presidency.

The decision comes at a time when Milei has called openly for JxC voters and party members to support his presidential candidacy in the run-off, saying they should unite to “finish with Kirchnerism forever.”

Newsletter

All Right Reserved.  Buenos Aires Herald