The most eloquent scene of the current state of Peronism was the gesture of Maximo Kirchner when in his election night speech the governor Axel Kicillof He thanked the mayors. At that moment, the former president’s son raised his eyebrows in a clear gesture that this gratitude was, at least, “opinionable.” At that time, with the result set, reproaches were flying between the leader of The Campora and the mayors for the defeat. +
The last elections showed that the Peronist electoral flow in the province of Buenos Aires suffered an obvious decline compared to the September elections, when he dreamed of “putting a stop to Milei“The comparison is devastating: Peronism lost 261 thousand votes, while Milei grew from 33 to 41%. And what is more revealing: electoral participation increased from 61 to 68%. In that additional 7%, analysts’ interpretations say that people did not vote with hope, but rather that more voters joined out of fear of the spectacular election that Peronism had made in September, when it doubled. That is to say, while Peronism promised a brake, in the province of Buenos Aires they voted for an accelerator.
According to Christian Buttieof CB Consultingthat 7% voted with the logic of the “lesser evil”, which in practical terms translates into: “I did not vote for MileiI voted against Christina“. That equation also explains why all the maneuvers to disguise continuity as renewal –Scioli, Albert, Massa– they failed. The trick no longer works. For a part of the electorate, all roads – even Kicillof– lead to Christina. And that’s what they try to avoid.
Christianity insists on agitating the “risk Milei” as a form of unity, but the voter responds more to the “K risk.” In this dynamic, Christina it became functional to the polarizing logic of libertarians. Milei He needs her: she is his perfect enemy. And the Kirchnerist machinery, far from noticing the phenomenon, insists on repeating the story of previous years. Society moves, speech does not.
Antecedent. The internal conflict broke out with the unfolding of the elections. The decision of Axel Kicillof to advance the Buenos Aires elections had already lit the fuse and, therefore, the celebration of C.F.K. dancing on the balcony after the defeat was read as a celebration of the governor’s failure rather than his endurance.
The result was a crossfire between supposed heirs. Kicillofwhich tries to build its own power through management, is faced with a structure of loyalties that still responds to Christina. Meanwhile, Maximo Kirchner maintains control of Buenos Aires PJbut fails to translate it into real leadership. This week, anonymous posters appeared in several provinces asking “to return the PJ to the Peronists”, reflecting that the unrest is widespread.
Meanwhile, figures like Sergio Massa either Juan Grabois They try to sustain something that has already become unmanageable. Massa moves with a low profile and Grabois as the outsider of Peronism. But none manages to generate a discourse with the capacity for accumulation.
The judiciary also plays its part. Cristina Kirchner It faces at least twenty open cases and is in the most advanced stage of the attrition process. His figure continues to generate rejection in broad sectors. More than a candidate, it is a reference of resistance. Its continuity blocks any attempt at renewal within Peronism, because challenging it has a cost that no one is willing to pay. own Alberto Fernandez He was isolated in his presidential role.
Today Peronism lives between dogmatism and opportunism. Without self-criticism or revision. Just a device that refuses to let go. Even the young people who were its distinctive mark –The Campora– today they are more concerned about surviving than building a future.
Not even abstention moves them. 35% of voters voted blank, null or not. It is the highest percentage since 1983. That void, for now without an owner, could be transformed into a new political actor. Traditional politics still does not perceive it.
Peronism seems to have been trapped between two intense minorities: the Kirchnerism residual and the mileism upward. None has a social majority. But one has the power, and the other has the history. In the middle, a silent majority that does not know – or does not want – to choose. Or maybe he is simply waiting for Peronism to stop shouting and listen again.
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