The minister’s plan is not to anticipate the revelation of his cabinet. Massa barely threw one name in the campaign towards the general elections and there are doubts about the chances of him becoming minister: Roberto Lavagna. “It’s going to have a lot to do with it,” said Massa, mysteriously, about the former minister’s participation in his possible government.
Lavagna is always close to the Tigrense and is willing to help, but at 81 years old he would not be in a position to take charge of the hottest portfolio. Massa is very satisfied with the work of his small table, so Guillermo Michel, Lisandro Cleri and Leonardo Madcur would also play an important role.
There would be few survivors of the current cabinet. One of them would be the Minister of Public Works, Gabriel Katopodis, who carries out a micro-militancy task that the campaign committee likes: he films himself convincing neighbors face to face on the bus, in assemblies and in public spaces. An all-terrain leader.
Some outgoing governors would also have their space: this is the case of Sergio Uñac, who in September Massa asked to take care of the relationship with businessmen. He is the coordinator of a “working group” that seeks consensus in business chambers throughout the country.
Juan Schiaretti’s votes are one of the obsessions of the Unión por la Patria bunker. The governor of Cordoba does not define himself and, at least for now, maintains his neutrality. The almost 7 points that he reaped are high in the second round and they will do whatever is necessary for him to join the ranks of massismo.
But the call that would generate the most noise, especially in the opposition, would be that of Gerardo Morales, president of radicalism: they are friends and political partners in Jujuy. “Let no one be surprised that there are other forces making up our government. I am not afraid to share with those who think differently,” Massa had said a month before the general elections at an event with the governors of the Norte Grande. Behind him was Morales.
Unlike part of the PRO that quickly decided to support Milei, radicalism maintains neutrality. Although a sector of the party would be closer to Massa than to Milei. The most sensitive problem for the Minister of Economy is the role of Cristina Kirchner. “For Sergio and me she is a very important figure. She is a permanent leader,” Rossi responded. And she added: “she is going to do what she thinks is necessary.”
Massa was less diplomatic: “She chose to have a role in her political life more from a distance, to look at public life from the outside,” he stated in an interview with Telenoche. The formula imagines her as a powerful “consultant,” although they understand that if they give her too much power she can become a problem for management. They will have to balance.
The one who will bear the worst part will be Alberto Fernández. He is so undervalued that no one doubts his inconsequentiality when he delegates attributes: “he will be a former president just like Macri, Cristina or Duhalde,” Massa simplified it. The President knows it. That’s why he got so angry when, after voting, a journalist asked him about his political future. He sketched out a couple of loose ideas, challenged her, and left.
Aim
In the midst of the Government crisis, in July 2022, Alberto Fernández anointed Massa as minister. For the Tigrense, it was the only opportunity to regain centrality and establish himself as a candidate, even if he had to deal with inflation and poverty. “You took charge in a difficult moment and did not wrinkle,” Cristina praised him during the campaign. It was her only help.
The truth is that Massa was never able to tame the economy: inflation and poverty were increasing, but the Government was satisfied that the social outbreak had been avoided. That was his endorsement to try to jump to Rivadavia’s chair.
Pragmatic like few others, Massa started out in the liberalism of the Ucedé, but the votes of his current coalition largely represent the progressivism of the center-left. He doesn’t blush when he admits it.
He was a friend of Néstor Kirchner and that is why he became head of the Cabinet with Cristina. He left Kirchnerism accused of being a traitor, faced him in key elections and even promised to “sweep the gnocchi out of La Cámpora.”
He was about to form an alliance with Mauricio Macri, but decided to add the Renovador Front as a third force in the formula of Alberto Fernández and Cristina. The roulette of politics now left him one step away from achieving his goal. In his team they look in amazement at the collapse of the opposition and pay attention to the maxim attributed to Napoleon that indicates that you should not interrupt a rival while he is making a mistake.
That is why when Massa was asked about the comings and goings of Together for Change and his alliance with Milei, he said: “I saw little of what happened, it is not a topic that I have followed. I understand that it causes a lot of confusion for people.” He, for his part, is focused on the finish line: despite all the country’s economic problems, he feels confident of achieving the goal for which he has been preparing for more than 30 years.
