Mauricio Macri poised to be next President of Argentina

Mauricio Macri

Opposition candidate Mauricio Macri is poised to become Argentina's next President after a runoff vote that marks the end of a political dynasty.

"Thank you for believing in me. ... I am here because you have decided," a triumphant Macri said from his campaign headquarters Sunday night as throngs of supporters erupted in cheers.

"Today is a historic day," he said, "a new era."

Macri spoke shortly after Daniel Scioli, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's hand-picked successor, conceded defeat.

With more than 98% of votes counted, Macri of the Let's Change coalition had won 51.4% of votes, while Scioli had garnered nearly 48.6%, elections officials said.

For Fernandez, who's slated to leave office in December after eight years at the helm, Sunday's closely watched vote was a test of whether her populist political legacy would endure.

For a region where leftist movements have played a growing role, it's an election that could shift the balance of power.

And for the finance world, it's a long-awaited moment that could change how the South American country handles its debt problems and interacts with Wall Street.

The election of Macri, a center-right candidate who's mayor of Buenos Aires and the former president of the Boca Juniors football club, could signal a conservative shift for Argentina. Macri has said he wants to rewrite the playbook on Argentina's economy, a campaign promise that made him popular on Wall Street and drew sharp criticism from his opponents.

In his victory speech Sunday night, Macri promised he'd work to eliminate poverty in Argentina and change the way business is done.

"I also want to say to our Latin American brothers and our brothers around the world, that we want to have good relationships with all countries," he said. "We want to work with everyone. We know that the Argentine people have much to bring to the world, and we hope to find an agenda of cooperation."