Remi Piet: Election Rundown on Bolivia and Argentina

Bolivia’s gone to the polls (and will be going back in two months) while Argentina is in the home stretch of its own election in what’s turning out to be an election-heavy month in the Americas.

In an interview with the Investing News Network (INN), Senior Director at Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) Remi Piet talked about the ramifications of the knife-edge result returned in Bolivia that will see a runoff election held, with three-term President Evo Morales seeking a fourth term at the helm.

“Whether Carlos Mesa or Evo Morales win that election, both candidates are actually very much in favor of encouraging more investment and exploration in the mining sector of the country,” he said. He explained that it was reason for potential investors and companies looking at Bolivia to take an ever closer look.

“The potential for investment in the mining industry in Bolivia is very high,” he said, talking about Bolivia’s copper-rich neighbors Chile and Peru, with which Bolivia shares geography.

Piet touched on issues around Morales and his support base, noting that many Bolivians are unhappy he is running at all, but also highlighting the economic development in the country since he has been in power. The run-off election will be held on December 15, with Morales facing off against former president Carlos Mesa. According to polling results on Monday (October 21), Morales had secured around 45 percent of the vote and Mesa had around 38 percent.

Speaking about Argentina, which will go to the polls on the coming Sunday (October 27) following a presidential debate over the weekend, Piet talked about the different approaches the two candidates would likely bring to the table when it came to developing the resources industry — which he said they were both committed to.

“Macri has clearly been a pro-IMF president, geared towards western interests and western alliances, very anti-(Nicolás) Maduro position,” said Piet.

“(Cristina) Fernandez de Kirchner, who is now the VP candidate to Alberto Fernandez, has had a tradition of being much more on the left side of politics, leaning towards a populist mercantilist approach of Peronist tradition.”

Piet said that a Fernandez presidency would likely reject reforms from the IMF, establish a more Argentina-centered approach and have more state control over processes compared to Macri’s attempts to control the deficit and liberalize the economy, which came through as austerity.

For Remi’s complete thoughts on the two elections, listen to the full interview above, where he also touches on the impacts of local elections in Colombia.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Scott Tibballs, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.