Six minutes per session, maximum of two minutes per intervention, face-to-face. The presidential debate that Sergio Massa And Javier Miley It will begin on Sunday, November 12, a week before the runoff, which will be the first to take place because the law requires a public presentation of candidates. It is a format that the organizers call, metaphorically, the “Wild West” because it will be hit one blow after another. It will also be an open mic: during the debate, the two candidates will be able to talk, interrupt each other and cross paths.
We have to look at Brazil, and the runoff debate Lola Silva And Jair Bolsonaro, to find a precedent. There will be a partial difference: each candidate will have his own podium and will be able to move around the stage, but in a specific area that will prevent him, as happened in Brazil, from getting within a short distance of his opponent. Juan Manuel OlmosOn behalf of Massa and karina miley, Representing their brother, they agreed on Monday on the terms of the debate that will be officially announced on Wednesday at the National Electoral Chamber (CNE).
With a list of six topics divided into two blocks, where there are only two opponents, the debate model will be different from previous models. Although there will be an initial minute of presentation, in each topic, the format will be open: each candidate will have 6 minutes to speak but will not be able to do so for more than 2 minutes at a time, and before each interruption, the opponent will take the floor. This way, The dynamics will allow for no gaps and the discussion will function almost like a conversation between two people.
The agreed agenda, which will be finalized on Wednesday when the National Electoral Chamber (CNE) announces the discussion and its characteristics, repeats many lines from the previous two meetings. There will be economy, security, production, employment, human rights, democratic coexistence and education, which, in this case, will also include health. The most innovative addition is foreign relations, which was not part of the issues agreed upon by the candidates and did not enter the agenda by citizens’ vote.
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With the dynamics agreed at the meeting held on Monday by delegates of Union por la Patria (UxP) and La Libertad Avanza (LLA), stoppage time will play a central role. Each candidate will have a six-minute countdown. The boycotts would then be in effect because no candidate would be able to speak for more than two minutes at a time. For example, if you use only 45 seconds, the word passes to your opponent, so the “dialogue” continues with the hand. Because of this all-or-nothing format, the organization says it will feel like a “Wild West” duel because there will always be back and forth, with room for questions and refutation.
There are still some points to be resolved, one of which was the subject of discussion between Massa and Mili delegates. The ruling party candidate wants the debate to be without notes, so that he does not have information or papers on the podium that he can turn to. Miley requests that the format of previous meetings that allowed for annotations be maintained. The final decision, at this time, will be made by the National Electoral Commission, which has a mixed history: in 2019 it was not possible to take notes and in 2023 it was agreed to modify the format and the use of papers was accepted but they could not be viewed or read. For the camera.
PE/MG
