All eyes in Argentina are on Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The vice president has dropped out of the running for the post of head of state, yet Peronism is awaiting her last word before the start of an election campaign in which she will face two major rivals: the centre-right Together for Change coalition and the ultra-liberal Javier Milei. With less than two weeks to go before the lists are closed, internal differences are fueling impatience and nervousness over the lack of a clear strategy. With more than 70% negative image of President Alberto Fernández, he resigned and ran for re-election from the ruling Frente de Todos (FdT). Still, he retains enough power not to give in to those who pressure him to push through a single candidacy that will prevent the FdT leadership from solidifying in the August 13 primary. The candidates who will run in the presidential election at the end of October will appear there.
The Peronist governors, an important part of the territorial power in the provinces, called for a federal unit list last Wednesday. “We cannot divert our efforts into sterile discussions that will only lead to divisions,” the thirteen provincial leaders at the FdT session in the Federal Investment Council warned in a document. The message reiterated the wish previously expressed by Kirchner’s environment and Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
Neither the President nor his closest candidate, Daniel Scioli, took any notice. In response, Scioli released an election spot in which he looks back on his past as a world powerboat champion and highlights his ability to navigate difficult conditions. “Today our country is exactly like that, we are sailing in a rough and dangerous sea and the way is to face, advance and win,” says the Argentine ambassador to Brazil in the advertisement, in which he is seen alongside Néstor Kirchner see is when she took office in 2003 as President and Vice President.
Scioli’s claims drive insane Massa, the leader of one of the three currents that coexist in the FdT. His presidential ambitions depend on managing to keep the country’s troubled economy in check, with record inflation in three decades and a shortage of foreign exchange due to the historic drought of the last farming campaign. Any internal strife saps focus on that goal and may be punished at the elections.
“He’s fed up,” warned the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Massista Cecilia Moreau, a few days ago. However, over the weekend, Massa was ready to fight back. “The best thing for Argentina and for the FdT is unity, but if it is decided that there is a STEP.” [primarias abiertas simultáneas y obligatorias]write us down “We will do our best and look for the best agreements”, assured Massa at the end of the Frente Renovador Congress.
Chief of Staff Agustín Rossi is another candidate for the Peronist primaries. This weekend he expects he will only withdraw his candidacy if he falls behind in the polls. Therein lies the problem of the Frente de Todos: none of the names considered achieves more than 20 points individually. “There is no one who can bring together the expectations of the majority of the group,” Rossi said when he spoke out in favor of identifying the FdT candidate in the primaries.
It is up to Kirchner to show his cards. The actor with the greatest political weight in Peronism was the architect of Alberto Fernández’s presidential candidacy four years ago, with which the FdT defeated Mauricio Macri. But already in government, the relationship between Kirchner and Fernández deteriorated so much that the conversation stopped. The Kirchnerist environment has nominated Interior Secretary Wado de Pedro as a candidate, without specifying who his vice president would be in this case. The final decision will be announced this week or next week at the latest.
Subscribe to the EL PAÍS America newsletter here and receive the latest news from the region.