Former Argentine presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich, who placed third in Sunday’s election, endorsed right-wing populist Javier Milei on Wednesday for next month’s runoff, a move that could rupture the country’s main center-right opposition coalition.
Bullrich, a former security minister, received 24% of the vote, compared to 37% for Economy Minister Sergio Massa and 30% for Milei.
“In the case of Javier Milei, we have differences, and that’s why we competed. We don’t overlook them. However, we are faced with the dilemma of change or the continuation of a mafia-style governance for Argentina and putting an end to the shame of the present. We have the obligation not to remain neutral,” Bullrich told a news conference.
“The country needs a fundamental change,” Bullrich added, warning against a “continuation of the worst government in history.”
Bullrich emphasized that she was speaking on behalf of her presidential team, including running mate Luis Petri, rather than their coalition, making clear that neither the center-right PRO party she leads, nor the broader United for Change coalition, officially backed the decision.
Shortly after the news conference, Milei posted a cartoon drawing on social media that showed a lion hugging a duck. Milei’s supporters have dubbed him “the lion” while Bullrich’s backers often referred to her as “Pato” (Spanish word for duck), a common nickname for Patricia.
“We forgave each other,” Bullrich said, revealing that she had met with Milei on Tuesday night. “Today, our nation needs us to be able to forgive each other because something very important for the future is at stake.”
Since Sunday’s vote there have been tensions within the center-right United for Change, the country’s main opposition coalition, about who its members would support ahead of the Nov. 19 runoff. The election will decide who will lead South America’s second-largest economy, which suffers from rising poverty an annual inflation rate of almost 140%.
Former President Mauricio Macri, who founded the PRO party, has spoken positively of Milei in the past, characterizing the support he received as a demonstration of how Argentines want change.
However, other elements in the coalition, mainly members of the more left-leaning Radical Civic Union (UCR), made clear in recent days they would not support Milei, a chainsaw-wielding candidate who has vowed to slash state spending and ditch the local currency in favor of the dollar to deal with inflation.
Former Sen. Ernesto Sanz, a UCR leader and one of the founding members of the coalition, raised the possibility that the coalition would disband if leaders of the party publicly expressed their support for Milei.
“Coalitions, like political parties, are not designed to live forever,” Sanz said in a radio interview Wednesday.
