Down, but not out: Two Argentine political veterans seek to thwart upstart populist

abcnews.go.com:

Economy Minister Sergio Massa and former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich adapted shrewdly over their combined seven decades in Argentine politics

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Economy Minister Sergio Massa and former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich adapted shrewdly over their combined seven decades in Argentine politics. It remains to be seen whether experience is an asset or a liability in what has already been an atypical presidential race.

Javier Milei, the mop-topped freshman lawmaker who leads most polls ahead of Sunday's vote, has railed against what he calls the political caste. He points to Massa and Bullrich as embodiments of an entrenched establishment and garnered the most votes in August primaries, sending shockwaves through the South American nation.

Massa and Bullrich convey themselves as safer bets to govern the crisis-engulfed country than the upstart who pledges to abolish the Central Bank, slash public spending and dollarize the economy. Most polls show Massa in second place and Bullrich third.

Polls have been notoriously unreliable, however. A few show Massa leading the first round and at least two show Bullrich ahead of him. Should Milei fail to secure outright victory, the top two candidates will go to a November runoff.

Massa, 51, has aspired to the nation’s top job for years, most recently in a 2015 campaign. Raised in a middle-class home in a Buenos Aires suburb, he became a lawyer, quickly reached the upper echelons of politics and has remained for more than two decades.

He promises to increase the purchasing power of salaries and compares himself to right-wing opponents who he says will scrap workers’ rights. His time as economy minister saw inflation and poverty soar and the currency