Opposition presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich on Monday expressed confidence that she will be elected as Argentina’s next president as she sought to capitalise on a stronger debate performance in Sunday’s debate.
"Juntos por el Cambio is going to be the next government in Argentina. I am going to be the next president of the nation," the former security minister declared in a radio interview on Monday as she was quizzed about her chances in the October 22 election.
Bullrich, trailing third in the majority of polls, is hoping her more aggressive approach to the debate will pay off at the ballot box. Beginning on the attack on Sunday, the PRO leader sought to pick holes in the candidacies of Javier Milei and Sergio Massa, her two main rivals, in a bid to swing the election back in her favour.
"I think we are going to beat [Javier] Milei. I am convinced," Bullrich bullishly told Radio Colonia AM 550 in an interview.
Rejecting pessimism over the country’s prospects, the right-winger said that Argentina’s problems “have a solution, but many things have to be done, because Kirchnerism has taken the opposite of the right path."
"When you run for president you must be certain of moving the country forward,” Bullrich explained, adding that she had took inspiration from Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his leadership in the face of the Russian invasion.
“Juntos por el Cambio has the historic task of winning the elections and each one of us has a precise job to do in our own territories. I feel that we are strong and that everyone is with me,” she said.
"I believe that this is a moment in which we must send a clear message to society: Juntos por el Cambio will be able to break this situation in which they have tried to put us. We are in a position to fight the battle and come to power," she stressed.
Bullrich, 67, avoided talk about what her relationship with Milei would be like post-election, dismissing questions along that line by saying “it is not the message we want to give to the people right now.”
"With autonomy, we are going to govern Argentina and I have every confidence in our ability. Then we will see who will get on this train," she said.
Nor did she want to reveal details about the names that will make up her potential cabinet.
"I want to have a real government of the whole coalition. I don't want to put forward names until we get past this first stage until we get to the run-off. In the last part of the campaign we will move towards the cabinet," she argued.
The PRO leader said that in the first debate, held in Santiago del Estero on October 1, she had the flu, which made it difficult for her to perform well. She was more satisfied with the preceding night’s performance.
Finally, she highlighted that the leaders of the opposition coalition were all lining up behind her, making the alliance "stronger than ever.”
"I feel that everyone is aligned, yesterday was a great honour for me. Yesterday everyone came, from [former president Mauricio] Macri to all the gubernatorial candidates and we decided that many mayors would join us, including the head of government of the city [Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta]," she concluded.
– TIMES/NA
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