Milei received key support for the elections in Argentina

After an unsuccessful bid in Argentina's presidential election, Patricia Bullrich will back libertarian outsider Javier Milei in the runoff against Economy Minister Sergio Massa, AFP reports.

Bullrich, who came third with almost 24 percent of the vote in the first round of Sunday's election, said that faced with the "dilemma of change or continuation of the mafia" in power, she would back the anti-establishment Milei.

"We cannot remain neutral. The majority of Argentinians chose change," she said at a news conference.

Bullrich clarified that she was not speaking on behalf of her party or the coalition she represented in the election.

Argentina, Latin America's third-largest economy, is heading for a tense runoff between polar opposite candidates.

Massa made a big turnaround and came in first place with 36.68 percent of the vote, despite overseeing triple-digit inflation and record levels of poverty in just over a year as economy minister.

He represents the centre-left Peronist coalition that has long dominated the country's politics that critics say is the creator of Argentina's everlasting economic misery.

His rival, Milei, is a political newcomer who has appeared on the scene promising to turn the economy into a dollar economy, to dynamise the central bank and to cut public spending, thereby giving a boost to a population desperate for change.

He came second with 29.98% of the vote.

Analysts say Milei's message, delivered using props such as a chainsaw he took with him during the campaign, may have alienated many who depend on the state's generous social policies and subsidies.

His stance against abortion, on guns, his statements against Pope Francis and other controversial ideas are also seen as a test of voters' desire to punish the mainstream parties. / BGNES