Argentine Opposition Claims Victory.

Calling his overwhelming election victory a strong mandate to implement his policies, President-elect Fernando de la Rua vowed to blot out corruption and bring Argentines more jobs and better health care. With 85 percent of the ballot counted late Sunday, preliminary returns showed De la Rua, the opposition leader, with 48.7 percent of the votes. Latin Americans Monday welcomed the victory of Fernando de la Rua in Argentina_s presidential vote, saying they hoped his win would mean more regional trade and less poverty after a decade of free-market reform. De la Rua, 62, of the center-left Alliance, beat his main rival Eduardo Duhalde by a wide margin in Sunday_s polls, putting an end to 10 years of Peronist rule under outgoing President Carlos Menem. Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso was the first foreign leader to call the Buenos Aires mayor Sunday night to congratulate him, said a spokeswoman for Brazil_s presidency. Cardoso, in an official message to De la Rua, said Brazil_s highest foreign policy objective was its relationship with Argentina and the consolidation of the Mercosur customs union, which groups Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.