Argentine conservative opposition wins provincial governor election by landslide

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's main opposition alliance, Juntos por el Cambio, has won the governorship of Santa Fe province, the country's third most populous, in a sweeping victory for the conservative bloc, according to official provisional election data.

As of Sunday evening, Maximiliano Pullaro had won 58.41% of the votes, while the candidate for the Peronista alliance Union por la Patria, Marcelo Lewandowski, obtained 30.85%, with votes counted in 99.31% of the province's polling centers at 11 p.m. local time on Sunday (0100 GMT on Monday).

One of the most important agricultural districts in Argentina, Santa Fe is home to the Rosario agricultural port complex, from which more than 80% of the country's agricultural shipments are exported.

"Santa Fe is the countryside, Santa Fe is industry, Santa Fe is commerce, it is a province of work that will move forward thanks to the efforts of each and every one of us," Pullaro said in a speech to supporters on Sunday evening.

The provincial elections were held in the midst of a major economic crisis, with annual inflation accelerating to almost 115%. The landslide victory for the opposition alliance comes six weeks before Argentina's presidential elections on Oct. 22, when the ruling center-left Peronist party will seek to retain power with current Economy Minister Sergio Massa as its candidate.

The latest national polls show an advantage for the libertarian economist Javier Milei, followed by Massa and the Juntos por el Cambio presidential candidate, Patricia Bullrich.

"Santa Fe has to align itself with the change that must also come at the national level in Argentina," said governor-elect Pullaro, who invited Bullrich to join the stage.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez congratulated Pullaro in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

"I wish the best future for the entire province of Santa Fe," said Fernandez, who is part of the Peronist coalition.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires; Writing by Jackie Botts; Editing by Leslie Adler and Christopher Cushing)