Daniel Osvaldo Scioli (Buenos Aires, 66 years old) has two orthopedic right arms. In warm seasons, use the one that imitates a light tan, and in the cool season, use the paler variant. In his prose, the boat accident in December 1989, in which he lost his arm in the waters of the Paraná River, is a recurring theme, with which he recalls his past as an athlete and with which he intervenes in many of the vicissitudes of his bathroom. century in professional politics. “I will compete even if they say I have to have both arms,” says the Argentine ambassador to Brazil in this interview with EL PAÍS at his home in the Delta del Tigre, in the northern part of the province of Buenos Aires. This moderate Peronist, chosen by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to compete with Mauricio Macri in the 2015 presidential elections, intends to repeat this nomination and has a file at the electoral court against the internal regulations drawn up by Máximo Kirchner, son of the national vice-president opened deputy and head of Peronism of Buenos Aires.
Daniel Scioli. Mariana Eliano
Questions: Cristina and Máximo Kirchner did not want internal competition for the Peronist presidential candidacy. Despite this request, why did you…?
Answer: [Interrumpe] None of them said that. They are among the things that settle in Argentina.
Q They raised it in front of heads of state and government, lawmakers and their interlocutors.
R did you listen to them
Q No, but I know and that’s why I’m asking.
R I did not hear it. You can have your point of view and I have mine. The step [Primarias Abiertas Simultáneas y Obligatorias] They allow the Argentine people to order the candidacies of all spaces. I think it’s for the best. As is happening in other countries around the world.
Q The other problem is regulation. Their representatives said they signed a blank piece of paper and their signatures then appeared on a competition rules document.
R Everything is said.
Q But you are the candidate. You have to know that.
R I do not follow the questions of the proxies. I do my work in a team. Policies must ensure participation, breadth and respect for minorities. I am sure that I will win and I want to make sure that the other participants can be integrated and that we have the general election target in October.
Scioli lives between Brasilia and La Ñata del Tigre, an estate with private helipad, pier on the Luján river, palm trees, swimming pool, chess with half-meter figures and a court where you can combine paddle tennis and mini game -tennis. A thousand-meter-long covered ship functions as a museum: the walls are decorated with his photos of celebrities from different fields, the ceiling is covered with football jerseys, and the bathtub of his first boat and an outboard motor hang from the ceiling. The interview takes place in one of the rooms in the central area, where family portraits can be seen, a 2022 cover of Caras magazine with the headline “Daniel Scioli and Gisela Bergen in love” (Bergen is the mother of their 6-year-old). daughter) and a photo with Alberto Fernández and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Dressed in a blue jacket, light blue shirt and denim pants, Scioli has fulfilled all of his daily routines: getting up early at 6:00 a.m., exercising, playing chess, taking a nap, drinking a portion of pastafrola tea with milk, which he does every afternoon eats Lorena Scioli, his 44-year-old daughter, helps him.
This Tuesday afternoon, on the news portals, the executives and mayors of Buenos Aires linked to Cristina Kirchner continued to try to get Scioli to give up the competition. Political and intellectual underestimation continued to prevail in Kirchner’s relationship with Scioli, and disobedience seemed out of the question. Pablo Ibáñez and Walter Schmidt, in the book Scioli Secreto, relate that when Kirchner and others of its members met in a parliamentary commission earlier in the century, they called it a “monograph” because they sneered that “that’s not the case is”. say something.”
Q In the governing coalition (Unión por la Patria, which replaced the Frente de Todos) there are three currents (Kirchner’s majority, the renewal front of Economy Minister Sergio Massa and that of President Alberto Fernández). Where are you?
R My affiliation is Peronism.
Q This is the umbrella for everyone. So you are not in any of the three currents?
RI am the President-appointed political ambassador to Brazil, whose document has passed the Senate chaired by the Vice President.
Wanting to avoid presenting himself as Alberto Fernández’s candidate, Scioli relies on a procedural manual for job interviews: he speaks simply, does not lose his composure, does not criticize anyone, returns to his life as a sportsman, avoids sharp definitions.
Q Why insist on moderation when polls show the electorate seems more drawn to non-moderate options like libertarian Javier Milei or Together for Change’s Patricia Bullrich?
R Well, that’s relative. Look at Libertad Avanza de Milei’s results in the provincial elections [perdió en todos los distritos donde tuvo candidatos]. Surveys are advertising measures today. Here and in the world. In Brazil they said Lula won when he was 20 and he won by a margin. In 2015 they said I hit [Mauricio] Macri and I ended up losing. There are many people who don’t answer the questions because there is anger against politicians. There is the famous crack.
Q How do you explain this struggle with politics?
R Because people don’t find the answers that match their expectations and because many political discussions don’t interest them. It is about issues of everyday life, such as inflation or insecurity. People are very sensitive.
Scioli has just celebrated his silver wedding anniversary with politics. The son of a businessman dedicated to the sale of electrical appliances and linked to the Radical Civic Union (UCR), he became a sportsman in an unpopular discipline – motor boating – but achieved one thanks to the public installation that gave him a television certain celebrity news program that covered their careers and their integration into the local celebrity world. At the invitation of President Carlos Menem (1989-1999), he came to Peronism in its neoliberal phase and its orientation towards the United States (1989-1999). During the short presidency of Eduardo Duhalde (2002–2002), he switched to a more center Peronism. 2003), he then joined the more left-leaning experience of the Kirchners and was Vice-President to Néstor Kirchner (2003–2007).
Q You were an outsider and after five offices (deputy minister, secretary of tourism, vice president, governor and now ambassador) you are already an insider. What new things can you offer Argentine society?
Daniel Scioli with one of his campaign ads. Federico Rotter (Getty Images)
R My experience renewed, modernized with an agenda for the future. People demand a predictable, reliable and experienced alternative that can reach agreements with the country and the world. My experience in Brazil gives me the opportunity to renew myself, to update myself and to understand that the world has changed and that we must project Argentina into the future with a shock of productive development. We need more exports and face Argentina’s main problems: inflation, insufficient salaries, the need for more work. I will achieve what the country wants and what the workers want: safety, predictability and that their rights are not abused. There are proposals that want to blow everything up on how to dollarize it.
Q You said that you have differences with Javier Milei, such as the dollarization of the economy, but also coincidences. What are these coincidences?
R I have a very open way of working, and I learned that from Lula’s running for vice president (meaning centre-right party Geraldo Alckmin), the agreements he made, and his idea of reaching out to those who think differently. For example: Now in Brazil they are debating reducing and simplifying tax payments, an issue that Milei pointed out and that I have in my government program. Then I am against dollarization. My way is sovereignty in money, energy, food and natural resources. Strategic companies such as Aerolíneas Argentinas, an increasingly thriving activity such as tourism must not be left to their fate. In Brazil, as an ambassador, I have demonstrated my ability to achieve much with the government of Brazil [Jair] It seemed impossible to Bolsonaro: we managed to make Brazil Argentina’s most important trading partner again and we managed to save Mercosur.
Q What will he take away from the two presidencies of Kirchner and Fernández?
R From Cristina, the recovery of wages – she left the highest salaries in Latin America -, a better distribution of income, the recovery of YPF [la estatal Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales], because thanks to it we can talk about energy sovereignty and energy surplus. Alberto’s presidency is marked by unpredictable events such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the drought, but still creates jobs, has completed more than 120,000 homes and invested in science, technology and infrastructure. You have to change what needs to be changed and build on what has already been built.
Q How do you intend to bring down inflation from 114% per year?
R It is necessary to rebuild reserves, achieve fiscal balance through growth rather than adjustment, and gradually lower the interest rate. Argentina must progress. There is food, energy and minerals, products that the world demands. The focus must be on producing more and restoring some harmony and democratic coexistence. You have to relieve Argentina.
Q One of the biggest differences between Fernández and Kirchner was the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The President presents it as a success of his leadership and the Vice President has pointed out his disagreements. What is your position and what do you want to renegotiate?
R My point of view is common sense. The agreement must be linked to growth and export capacity. In Argentina there is no room for further adjustments. People go to tremendous lengths to make ends meet.
Daniel Scioli at one of the Frente Para La Victoria events in 2015, when he was campaigning for his first presidential election. Charlie Diaz Azcue (Getty Images)
Q How much does an election campaign in Argentina cost?
R [Silencio] The state provides all free television slots by law.
Q But what are the costs for the entire campaign?
R If a candidate is installed across the country, as in my case, then it needs much less. When a candidate needs to settle in, they need a lot more.
Q Some candidates claim that a presidential campaign costs between $30 million and $40 million.
R I don’t know anything about that.
Q And how much did your 2015 campaign bring in?
R She is exhausted.
Check out one of his advisors building a tower of books to find the computer Scioli will use as Brazil’s ambassador for a zoom. “Won’t everything collapse?” he asks.
Q In 1983, his father, José Scioli, raised $1 million for Raúl Alfonsín’s campaign at a dinner where each attendee contributed $1,000.00. That’s why I understand that you already know the different types of financing before you entered politics.
R My father was a good friend of Alfonsín and as a businessman he helped him along with other businessmen. I can’t remember how much. So much has changed in 40 years: the numbers, the values, everything.
Q In the 2015 presidential campaign with Macri [perdió en la segunda vuelta por 2,8 puntos] He said two of his mistakes were that he didn’t show up for the first debate of all the candidates and that he talked more about Macri than you. What other things would not repeat?
R Macri campaigned very intelligently with the word “change”. I need to try harder to explain the program. Unlike 2015, opponents say what they will do.
Q They say Macri had a strong idea, a change. What is your strong idea for this campaign?
R Coherence and predictability, ability to communicate with all sectors.
Q Why do you think you have been underestimated in Peronism for so long?
R I’m a goalscorer for Villa La Ñata (a futsal club he had their headquarters built in front of his house), I’m Villa la Ñata’s top scorer. And to be a scorer you have to enter the small area and eat a kick. I was never a complainer. When I was world champion I first ran 200 kilometers and one day I lost an arm and I never complained. You have to do justice to what you deny.
Q What virtues do you find in Eduardo de Pedro? [ministro del Interior y precandidato presidencial con el que competirá en agosto]?
R He is an experienced young man with a great life story. [sus padres están desaparecidos desde la dictadura argentina]. i respect everyone
Q What are their differences?
R I don’t comment on what others say. My thing is to compete, not fight.
He goes to the chair from which he will zoom in as ambassador, complains about the connection and says goodbye, looking at the computer screen. “Take a hat from La Ñata,” he says.
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Daniel Scioli. Mariana Eliano
Daniel Scioli with one of his campaign ads. Federico Rotter (Getty Images)
Daniel Scioli at one of the Frente Para La Victoria events in 2015, when he was campaigning for his first presidential election. Charlie Diaz Azcue (Getty Images)
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