BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) – The two frontrunners to win Argentina’s presidential election in October have roughly equal levels of support, a poll published yesterday showed, with the pro-business opposition challenger gaining on the likely candidate for the governing Peronists. Daniel Scioli, the Peronist governor of the powerful province of Buenos Aires, leads the field ahead of August primaries with 33.3 percent of voting intentions, according to the Management & Fit survey.
Mauricio Macri, the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires and leader of the conservative PRO party, is on 32.2 percent, gaining ground since last month, when in the same poll he was backed by 29.4 percent of voters. Support for Scioli is unchanged from April.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who is barred from seeking a third term, has not publicly backed any candidate. Her approval rating in the poll was 39.6 percent, slightly up on last month, while disapproval was 51.5 percent.
Many voters have become disillusioned with Fernandez’s interventionist policies, which critics say have hobbled Latin America’s third-largest economy. Scioli is seen as more pragmatic and pro-market than Fernandez and says policy changes are needed to get the economy moving. But he says he will move carefully rather than adopt the fast approach proposed by Macri.
Under the leadership of Macri, the 56-year-old former president of Boca Juniors soccer club, the PRO party has earned a reputation for getting things done in Buenos Aires. A third candidate, Sergio Massa, is currently trailing, with 13.8 percent of support, according to the poll.
The survey polled 2,400 people between May 11 and May 20, with an error margin of 2 percentage points.
