Argentine presidential candidates sharply critique each other in debate 1 week before election

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina _ Argentina’s presidential contenders have come out attacking each other in the South American nation’s first ever head-to-head candidates’ debate.

Ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli, the chosen successor of outgoing President Cristina Fernandez, said Sunday the economic ideas of opposition candidate Mauricio Macri “were a danger for society.” Macri countered that the problem was a government that “never stopped lying to people.”

Scioli argued that a large devaluation of the Argentine peso would happen under Macri, along with cuts to popular social welfare programs for the poor. Macri said that lowering poverty by developing the economy would be a central focus on his administration.

Scioli got 37 per cent of the vote compared to 34 per cent for Macri in the Oct. 25 election, a close finish that requires a Nov. 22 runoff.

The Associated Press