“We are not going to abide by a fuck what Cristina says.” The phrase fell like a stone on the windshield of the Peronist intern. Who said it was Héctor Villagra, Mandamás de la Uocra Avellaneda, vice of the local PJ and secretary of the regional CGT. He said it in public, in an act for the 51 years of the death of Perón and days of closing alliances in the province. The voice of Villagra is not very popular, but what it represents is what comes with him: the UOCRA, the CGT and the PJ of Avellaneda, which is presided by Ferraresi. Was it a lonely outburst or messenger of a sector of the Buenos Aires PJ?
The trade unionist’s comment actually represents a fight for the control of Buenos Aires Peronism. In a corner, Axel Kicillof, governor with autonomy aspirations. In the other, La Cámpora, with Máximo Kirchner as in charge of remembering that the pen is not for free use. And in the background, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, even with house arrest but with intact capacity. The June 18 postcard, the day of the march against Cristina’s prison, was the symbol of that contained fight. From San José Street, CFK reappeared with an recorded message and a phone call that was transmitted by the speakers. Kicillof went with his group, right to the future, and joined the scenery with the intendants who support him. He had no choice. He who was not marked. But the smile in the photo hid a dilemma: going was giving up, not going was to break. Kicillof is obliged to give signs of tension and loyalty at the same time to stay alive. Cristina’s prison reorder the troop for a while, but pauses the debate about the future.
In parallel, an old acquaintance returned to the scene: YPF. A ruling by Judge Loretta Presska, in New York, condemned Argentina to pay the Burford Capital Fund the sum of 16 billion dollars for the nationalization of YPF in 2012. The worst part of the ruling is that it says that the company must deliver shares of the Argentine State as part of payment. The figure is scandalous, but more is the timing: Kicillof, as former Minister of Economy and visible face of that play, remained in the center of the scene by government decision. Milei did not point against Cristina. In his account of the social network X (former Twitter) he decided to point against the governor. A thoughtful decision because, from the point of view of the government, to lift Kicillof as an opponent is to give volume in the Peronist intern. Kicillof picked up the glove and went out to defend himself with a thread in networks. A public dispute between Milei and Kicillof is a bad thing for Cristina and La Cámpora when reorganizing Peronism.
Negotiation. In that context, on Sunday 29 at night there was a summit in La Plata. Axel, Máximo and Sergio Massa sat at the same table, as in the old days, although this time without toast. It was a necessary, unwanted meeting. You had to close the lists and avoid an intern that no one could be banked. Cristina, again absent in body but not in spirit, sent signs to accommodate the loads. There would have been agreement: a single list, name of names and Kicillof as general campaign coordinator. It’s not little, but it’s not all either.
On the other side, the blood continues to boil. Carlos Bianco, head of Buenos Aires Cabinet, turned on the fan: “Enough of the Orga that wants to put the last one on the lists.” The message was direct to La Cámpora. No one became offended. In parallel, Ferraresi, Axel Escudero, visited camorist districts such as Quilmes and Lanús. A clear provocation. Nobody talks about rupture, but everyone tanta.
In parallel there is an alarming fact for the hardest Kirchnerism: surveys do not help. La Libertad advances leads in the intention of young vote with 48%, while union for the homeland barely reaches 21%. This not only shows that unity is necessary for the opposition, but that Cristina Kirchner’s prison does not generate any effect on young people. Victimization does not translate into votes.
Kicillof walks on a lazy rope. The lists closure will be your fire test. If you manage to put your own, you will consolidate your place. If they corner him, his figure shrinks. For now, he plays all letters at the same time: management, militancy, story and territory. And while doing so, repeat a mantra among yours: “You don’t have to give anything.”
