According to Cointelegraph: Javier Milei, who is known for his Bitcoin-friendly stance, has emerged victorious in Argentina's presidential run-off election held on November 19. With 99% of the vote counted, Milei secured over 55% of the votes, leaving his rival, Sergio Massa, trailing by nearly 3 million votes, according to data from Bloomberg.
Economy minister Massa congratulated Milei on his triumph after over 90% of the votes were accounted for, ahead of the official announcement of results. Milei is set to assume office on December 10.
In the face of Argentina's enduring inflation crisis, with the Argentine peso notching up an annual inflation increase of over 140% in the last 12 months, Milei's victory carries substantial implications. Known for his outspoken critique of the country's central bank, which he describes as a deceiving "mechanism by which politicians cheat the good people with inflationary tax," Milei places value in the role of Bitcoin in shaping the national financial landscape.
He touts Bitcoin as symbolic of the shift towards the return of currency control to its primal creator - the private sector. Despite this, he has yet to illustrate any intention to reincarnate Bitcoin into a legal tender within the country.
This stance is starkly contrasted by Massa's approach, who had vowed to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to rectify Argentina's chronic inflation crisis if he were elected.
Though Massa secured the initial round of the presidential election in October, he was unable to clinch an outright victory, resulting in the decisive run-off vote. Prior to this, in August, Milei had already demonstrated his political influence, winning Argentina's primary elections against Messi and other contenders.
