Javier Milei and Sergio Massa will face off in the second round of the Argentine presidential election

 Javier Milei and Sergio Massa will face off in the second round of the Argentine presidential election

Sergio Massa, the finance minister for Argentina, shocked observers by obtaining more than 36% of the vote in the presidential vote on Sunday, setting up a run-off election with far-right contender Javier Milei.

Many had anticipated that voters would penalize Mr. Massa for preside over a financial crisis, so his advantage came as a surprise.

Argentina's inflation is getting close to 140%.

No contender had obtained the requisite 45% of votes needed to win the election outright after practically all ballots had been tallied.

As a result, on November 19 there will be a second round in which voters will have to decide between Mr. Massa, a member of the left-wing Peronist organization, and Mr. Milei, a far-right libertarian.

With 30% of the vote, Mr. Milei, who had won the primary in August, fell to second place.

Former security minister and conservative Patricia Bullrich placed third with 23.8%.

After the race, Ms. Bullrich attacked Sergio Massa, who had won, declaring, "I will not congratulate someone who It was a part of the worst government throughout Argentina's history."

Juan Schiaretti and Myriam Bregman, the other two contenders, trailed far behind with 6.8% and 2.7%, respectively.

Following his surprising victory, several of Mr. Massa's fans flocked to the streets of Buenos Aires to celebrate.

According to Luis Esquivel, who spoke to the BBC, "What Massa revealed was that he was the only candidate that has an important agenda for the country."

The results demonstrate that he ran a strong campaign, according to Juliana Agrofoglio, a 27-year-old. She continued by saying that voters had united to "confront the fear" she said Mr. Milei had stoked.

Voters seeking a dramatic solution to Argentina's economic crisis found appeal in Mr. Milei's plans, which included abolishing the central bank and switching to the US dollar as Argentina's official currency.

In addition, he has pledged to ease gun control regulations, cut down on government bureaucracy, and limit access to abortion.

The "most important election in the last 100 years," Mr. Milei said to his followers, was held on Sunday, and the result was "historic" because "Argentines voted for a change."

Meanwhile, Mr. Massa spent a large portion of his campaign supporting the qualifications of the incumbent administration.

The 51-year-old argued that the IMF debt accrued by the previous center-right administration was the cause of the austerity measures adopted by his government.

With two candidates who are so diametrically opposed to one another, tensions are expected to worsen in the four weeks leading up to the run-off, which comes at a very trying moment for Argentina's economy.

The Wilson Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank, quoted Benjamin Gedan as saying that "the status quo is disastrous, but for many Argentines, the price to pay for economic reform is clearly too high."

Whoever prevails in the run-off will have a challenging task: winning over a nation weary of politics and populated by citizens eager for their circumstances to change.