Argentina heads to the polls Sunday for the first round of Presidential elections

The election may be ripe for an outsider who represents a departure from the traditional Argentinian political parties

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BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — On Sunday Aug. 13, Argentines will head to the polls to vote in the nation’s presidential primaries. The nation is celebrating 40 years of democracy since the fall of the country’s dictatorship, but also reeling over hyperinflation, an economy on the brink of recession, and political scandal.

And voters seem eager for change.

All of Argentina’s diverse political coalitions are running new candidates rather than incumbents — current President Alberto Fernández has said he will not throw his hat in the ring for October elections. His coalition, the Peronist, Unión por la Patria (UxP), is running two candidates: centrist Sergio Massa, an economic minister who has the support of coalition leaders and party faithful, and left-wing lawyer Juan Grabois. Massa is expected to win the primary easily to become the Peronist…