Patricia Bullrich and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, in archive images. Portal / AFP
The most important opposition alliance in Argentina, Together for Change, wanted to signal a ceasefire in the internal conflict between the two presidential candidates in the conservative coalition this Sunday. Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and Patricia Bullrich traveled to the city of Córdoba, the country’s second largest city, to support their candidate in the municipal elections, Rodrigo de Loredo. But the defeat against the Peronist Daniel Passerini overshadowed the staging of unity. “I made her fart [en vano]said De Loredo, who joked that he had called for defeat to the main leaders of the opposition alliance who were on the scene.
After 9pm, De Loredo admitted defeat and congratulated Passerini, who received 47.7% of the vote. On one side was Rodríguez Larreta, the current head of government of Buenos Aires, and on the other, Bullrich, Mauricio Macri’s security minister (2015–2019). The first represents the more moderate wing of the coalition, which consists of the PRO – former President Macri’s party -, the Radical Civic Union, the Civic Coalition and the Federal Republican Meeting. The second, who promises to “do everything”, is supported by the former president.
Whoever wins the Aug. 13 primary—most polls are more favorable to Bullrich—will take part in the final race in October against Peronist candidate Sergio Massa. The internship between the Buenos Aires leader and the former security minister was tense and marred by disagreements, such as whether or not the alliance should be expanded to include figures from other ideological spectrums. There were only a few times they were shown together. One of the most recent incidents occurred a month ago, when the coalition leadership expressed support for the governor of Jujuy and the vice president of Rodríguez Larreta, Gerardo Morales, after the suppression of protests in that province.
This Sunday, Rodríguez Larreta and Bullrich had met before their performance on stage in the bunker where they were awaiting the results, but according to national media reports they had avoided being photographed there. “You will always see me on the side of promoting unity,” Rodríguez Larreta told the journalists present. “We hug Rodrigo de Loredo and all the people of Cordoba, no matter what,” Bullrich said, according to the Clarín newspaper. Other coalition leaders had conveyed similar messages: “There is no enmity” and they will “stick through thick and thin”.
Then the results were known. The Peronist candidate received 47.7% of the vote and Together for Change 40%. The city’s 1.13 million voters abstained by 40%, a high figure considering that voting is compulsory in Argentina.
Loredo thanked Rodríguez Larreta, Bullrich and the rest of the leaders of Juntos por el Cambio for having traveled to Córdoba “with great responsibility” and then uttered the phrase that all the national media reported this Monday: “I made them fart”. Rodríguez Larreta smiled and shook his head; Bullrich too and patted him on the shoulder. “No no. Not at all. We are an expression that respects democracy and understands that Together for Change continues to be the alternative cultural option to Kirchnerism in Argentina,” clarified De Loredo.
The opposition had the photo but not the victory some polls had predicted. The city of Córdoba has been governed since 2019 by Hacemos Unidos por Córdoba, a Peronist-majority alliance that distances itself from Vice President Cristina Kirchner. The province of Córdoba, one of the most conservative in the country, is also led by this coalition. In June, the Peronist Martín Llaryora, current mayor of the capital Cordoba, won the provincial elections. This Sunday, Llaryora ironically commented on the visit of the opposition leaders: “They come to visit and give you a course on governance every day, everyone rules in the richest and most subsidized district in Argentina. Come rule inside”.
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