Macri Refuses to Throw in Towel After Losing Argentine Primaries

(Bloomberg) -- Argentine President Mauricio Macri said he can still get re-elected in October even after ending a key primary vote more than 15 percentage points behind his main contender.

Sunday’s defeat to opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez is a result of the economic hardship South America’s second-largest country has endured recently, Macri told reporters at the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires. He added that he heard the voters’ message.

“We will reverse yesterday’s bad result and we will have a closer election” in the Oct. 27 first round, Macri said, flaked by vice presidential candidate Miguel Angel Pichetto.

Macri said his economic advisers are working on all necessary measures to contain a market plunge that caused the peso to lose 15% of its value on Monday. He didn’t provide any details on the measures, though. The sell-off is a sample of what Argentines can expect should Fernandez be confirmed as the country’s next president, Macri said, adding he won’t make changes to his cabinet now.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Gillespie in Buenos Aires at pgillespie29@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Walter Brandimarte

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