Argentine conservative leadership battle could be a proxy for presidency race

FILE PHOTO: Argentine presidential pre-candidate Horacio Rodriguez Larreta of Juntos por el Cambio alliance, waves to supporters during a campaign event, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mariana Nedelcu/File Photo

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's center-right opposition is locked in a leadership fight between former security tsar Patricia Bullrich and Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Larreta, with whoever wins in primaries on Sunday the odds-on favorite to be the country's next president.

The two have both pledged to undo tight capital controls, cut spending, and allow the peso currency to fall, but diverge over how quickly to do so, with Larreta favoring a slower pace of transformation and Bullrich backing more shock tactics to right an economy where inflation is near 116% and dollar reserves almost dry.