BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine Economy Minister and presidential candidate Sergio Massa on Monday announced a month-long extension of an export incentive program, a day after earning a spot in the South American country’s presidential run-off election.
The program applies to all export sectors and offers exporters a higher exchange rate in a bid to bring in badly needed hard currency and replenish the central bank’s meager reserves.
The center-left Peronist economy chief earned some 37% of Sunday’s vote, ahead of radical libertarian Javier Milei, who received 30%, a surprise reversal of pre-election expectations.
Massa has overseen Argentina’s worst economic crisis in two decades, with annual inflation hitting 138% in September.
Massa and Milei will now compete to woo nearly 9 million swing voters ahead of the run-off election scheduled for Nov. 19.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)
