BUENOS AIRES: Argentines voted for a new president on Sunday in an election that will shape the recovery of the South American country's troubled economy, with outgoing leader Cristina Fernandez's candidate the favorite to win on a platform of "gradual change".
Voting was orderly in polling stations in the capital Buenos Aires where children joined their parents in line and there were no reports of logistical problems from the country's jungle north to its windswept Patagonian plains in the south.
Opinion polls show Daniel Scioli of the leftist Front for Victory ruling party with a strong lead over his rivals, although he cannot be sure of an outright win and may be forced into a runoff vote next month.
In the town of San Justo west of the capital, Fernandez is adored by the poor and working class for generous welfare handouts and protectionist policies but reviled by others for
strangling the economy after a commodities-fueled boom ended.
Scioli and his main challengers all propose policy changes to kick-start growth, restore the central bank's near-empty liquid reserves, narrow a yawning fiscal deficit and tame high inflation. But they differ on the pace and depth of reform.
Scioli warns against abrupt changes to Fernandez's leftist populism and vows to stick with her social welfare programs.
His closest rival is Mauricio Macri, the conservative mayor of Buenos Aires, who promises to move fast to open up Latin America's No. 3 economy but is viewed by many as beholden to the rich.
"I want Scioli to win. Macri won't care about the people. He has no idea what it is to be poor," said Carolina Carrizo, 28, a San Justo resident whose family has lived off benefits since her husband hurt his back two years ago.
"I like how the country is doing at the moment and I think Macri will reverse the progress."
To win outright on Sunday, Scioli needs 45 percent of votes, or 40 percent if he has a 10 percentage point lead over his closest challenger. Polls show him hovering near the 40 percent threshold and Macri approaching 30 percent.
Scioli, a former powerboat champion who lost his right arm in a race in 1989, looked relaxed as he queued to vote with his ex-model wife.
"I hope people chose to keep building on what we have already done," Scioli said before casting his vote into a cardboard ballot box.
"FED UP"
The election marks the end of 12 years of "Kirchnerismo" covering the presidencies of Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner. They are credited by supporters with reviving growth, protecting Argentine industry and helping the poor after a massive economic crisis in 2001-02.
Scioli owes much of his support to Fernandez loyalists. Yet, a year ago the ruling party was mired in trouble. Argentina had defaulted again on its debt, economic growth was in a tailspin and hard currency was flying out the door in black market trade.
In January, the murky death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had leveled grave allegations against Fernandez, shook the government. Fernandez bounced back after a court threw out the case the prosecutor had brought and she spent heavily to reboot growth.
Wary of alienating Fernandez's supporters, Scioli rejects fiscal austerity and a shock devaluation and says monetary reform should be slow to avoid hurting the poor. Privately, his close advisers sell a more investor-friendly message.
Macri and third-placed centrist Sergio Massa both promise to start work quickly on dismantling trade and currency controls, and to improve the accuracy of government economic data that experts say is often fudged. They also promise to tackle rising crime levels.
"I'm fed up with the insecurity and of the government giving handouts to delinquents who don't work," said saleswoman Florencia Corbalen, echoing a common refrain among the middle-class that Fernandez's welfare benefits have been too generous.
All three candidates have tip-toed around the subject of negotiations with US creditors whose legal battle over unpaid debt tipped Argentina back into default last year. But each team says their candidate wants a deal that does not sell Argentina short.
Voters are also electing some regional governors, half of the lower house of Congress and a third of the Senate.
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