Argentina's Peronists celebrated their return to power after incumbent President Mauricio Macri conceded defeat in a dramatic election that likely swung the country back to the center-left, saw the return of a divisive former president, and threatened to rattle financial markets. As investors nervously eyed Monday's market opening, thousands of jubilant supporters of Alberto Fernández and his vice presidential running mate, ex-president Cristina Fernández, waved sky-blue and white Argentine flags and chanted "We're coming back! We're coming back!" "Today, Alberto is the president of all Argentines," Cristina Fernández told supporters, some of whom brandished tattoos with her image and the image of her late husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner.
Late Sunday night, authorities said Alberto Fernández had 48.1% of the votes compared to 40.4% for Macri, with almost 97% of the votes counted, the AP reports. He needed 45% support, or 40% support with a 10% lead, over the nearest rival to avoid a runoff vote on Nov. 24. The election was dominated by concerns over the country's economic woes and rising poverty, with voters rejecting austerity measures that Macri insisted were needed to revive the struggling economy. "The only thing that concerns us is that Argentines stop suffering once and for all," Alberto Fernández told the crowd. The 60-year-old lawyer said he would need the support of Macri's administration to reconstruct what he called the inherited "ashes" of Argentina. "We're back and we're going to be better!" he said.
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