Kirchnerism turned the major civic mobilization marking the 47th anniversary of the military coup in Argentina into a new act of defense of Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Human rights organizations led the march to Plaza de Mayo to oppose the dictatorship and the white handkerchiefs, which they made a symbol of resistance, were waved in central Buenos Aires. It was the first mobilization without Hebe de Bonafini, the historic leader of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who died in November and was honored throughout the day. But the historic claims of “remembrance, truth and justice” have been mixed up with electoral messages spread by La Cámpora, the largest group on the streets this Friday. His speakers buried the idea of Alberto Fernández’s re-election and expressed their desire for Kirchner to lead the Peronist presidential candidacy in next October’s elections.
“Let’s all go with Cristina to liberate the country”, “No to the ban, Cristina drives”, the members of La Cámpora sang along the nearly 12-kilometer route, which they took from the former Navy Mechanical School, now in transformed into a memorial space, traveled to the Plaza by Mayo. “Cristina 2023” could be read on the T-shirts, caps and banners of the members of this Kirchnerist group, as well as criticism of the judiciary for the six-year corruption sentence against Kirchner.
As the deadline for closing the electoral lists draws nearer on the calendar, Kirchnerism increases the pressure on Fernández. Relations between the president and his vice-president began to deteriorate some time ago, but the turning point was the debt restructuring agreed with the IMF, forcing the government to cut the deficit and thus cut public spending.
The vice president’s son, Deputy Máximo Kirchner, made it clear that they expect Fernández to step down and refuse to run for a second term due to internal dissatisfaction with his administration. “Those of us who told the government about the problems, about the deal with the IMF, we need to know how to dig our heels in and say no. The deal was bad and everyone knows it. Argentina has an overwhelming maturity curve ahead. And if someone gets angry, let them get angry, we go to elections and society decides that,” Máximo Kirchner said of the possibility that Fernández will stay in the presidential race and there will be more than one candidacy for Peronism.
Andrés Larroque, another La Cámpora reference, was convinced that Fernández would not appear. “That seems to be behind us to me…there are no sectors collecting that…” he said in radio messages. Larroque claims the only option is to join the column behind Kirchner. “She was very clear when she stated that she had no intention of bringing charges based on a false belief that could damage political strength; From our side we tell you that it is not a burden at all, but the heart and the pillar of this space. Going to the elections without Cristina would be like going to the World Cup in Qatar without Messi,” Larroque said.
Fernández avoided responding to the messages of Kirchnerism and remained attached to the commemoration. He shared a video on his social media in which he said he was “absolutely happy” that Argentina was celebrating 40 years of uninterrupted democracy and announced the construction of a new memorial space in Campo de Mayo, the largest army compound in Argentina.
We announce the construction of the new space for the memory and promotion of human rights in Campo de Mayo, formerly #CCDTyE.
Like everyone #24. Marchwe hugged and marched, cherishing collective memory. pic.twitter.com/UNuOqplgFy
– Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) March 24, 2023
“Every March 24 we can have many disagreements in politics, but the vast majority of Argentines embrace and march,” Fernández said in the record. Rejection of the dictatorship and crimes against humanity committed by state terrorism is one of the great social agreements of Argentine society, although social networks amplify the voice of those who deny or trivialize the crimes committed. This Friday, hundreds of tweeters, along with historical and current photos of anti-regime mobilizations, turned “There were not 30,000” into a trend related to the number of disappeared that human rights organizations consider valid.
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