Argentines start voting in primaries set to test political mood

Argentines headed to the polls on Sunday morning in primary elections, with voters likely to punish the ruling center-left Peronist coalition, angry at inflation scraping 116% and a cost-of-living crisis that has left four in 10 people in poverty.
The primary is obligatory for most adults and each person gets one vote, making it in effect a giant dress rehearsal of the general election in October and giving a clear indication of who is the favorite to take the presidency.
That will be key for policy affecting Argentina’s huge farm sector, one of the world’s top exporters of soy, corn and beef, the peso currency and bonds, and ongoing talks over a wobbling $44 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund.