Economy plans central to Argentina presidency bids

FROM the icy reaches of Patagonia to tropical jungles in the north, Argentines began voting yesterday for a new president to rescue Latin America’s number three economy from a crisis that plunged millions of middleclass Argentines into poverty.

Voters trickled in as polling stations opened yesterday morning, with 85,000 police and military deployed across the country to ensure this 20-year-old democracy's most closely- contested election goes smoothly.

Polls show a statistical dead heat between three candidates: free market ex-President Carlos Menem, seeking a third term at 72; fellow Peronist and left-of-centre governor Nestor Kirchner and economist Ricardo Lopez Murphy, an investors favourite.