The rumors of change shook the drowsiness of the chief of staff. Suddenly, with the noise that was generated in the corridors of the Pink House for a possible departure from John Manzur, the man from Tucuman once again had the leading role of his first days in office, which included a frenetic pace of activities.
In the last week, the president Alberto Fernandez He put him at his side in an act and got back on a plane, invited by a minister, to inaugurate works in the north, where he was filled with praise. He had several meetings and emphatic denials: Manzur claims that he stays, even though he knows he is no longer on solid ground.
At the moment, the chief of staff has three possible paths to choose from: he stays in the national government, without the shine of other times; go back to the government of Tucuman, where he asked for leave and left the helm in the hands of a rival; or a seat in the upper house is secured until 2027, taking advantage of the fact that he was put on the 2021 list as an alternate senator. Beyond the uncertainty of the moment, the man has options.
Manzur’s resignation
“The relationship between the chief of staff and the president is very good,” he declared. Jorge Neme, Manzur’s second, to Radio 10. He was the official in charge of denying the rumors that gained sustenance due to the cold relationship between the man from Tucuman and Albert Fernandez, who for weeks had not appeared together or in a photo.
Neme’s Raid by the media was not the only effort made. the same President had to rush a public meeting to stop the versions: on Monday 24, hours after the newspaper Perfil revealed in minute detail the tensions that
there was among the officials and possible the departure of Manzur, Alberto Fernandez He put it in his diary.
It was in an act in Morón in which he would present the National Vaccination Plan to ensure school attendance together with the Minister of Education, Jaime Perczyk. Manzur was not listed as a participant in the press releases, but at the last minute they sat him down to the right of the President.
The next day, the chief of staff was invited by John Zabaleta, the Minister of Social Development, to inaugurate a Child Nutritional Recovery Center in a town of Salta. The governor Gustavo Saenz gave the downcast official a hand: “It was very important that Alberto Fernandez has made the decision to have a chief of staff from the north, a forgotten region, full of asymmetries and injustices. Juan knows that there is a lot to do, that is why he accompanies us”, he declared.
The rest of the week was spent between tours with ministers and meetings with businessmen, all duly portrayed and published on their networks, in an effort to demonstrate validity.
However, he is far from that first post PASO stage, when with his overwhelming style, which bothered the Casa Rosada so much, he showed leadership in the morning Cabinet meetings and in the daily conferences. Today you must overreact to show yourself with an interesting agenda.
Manzur’s options
Manzur’s future is uncertain. If he stays, he knows that his role as chief of staff will be reduced to a minimum. To make matters worse, he has to share his tasks, informally, with the chancellor. Is that Santiago Cafiero ran, but not so much: many officials continue to visit him in his new office, a parallel chief of staff.
But for the man from Tucuman, things will not be easy either if he decides to return to his small payment: it is that close to Osvaldo Jaldo, the deputy who held the governorship due to Manzur’s license, they discuss whether the return makes sense, when there are less than two years left in office and the Chief of Staff cannot run for re-election.
There is a third option: since the 2021 elections he has been a substitute senator, so he could negotiate with Pablo Yedlin, his friend who aspires to become governor of Tucumán. The idea would be to keep your bank in exchange for support Yedlin’s candidacy in 2023. In this way, he could take refuge in the upper house until 2027, so as not to be left on the plain. An elegant exit to the political labyrinth in which he got himself.
During the week, there was also speculation about the name of the possible replacement for Manzur. And Agustín Rossi sounded strong. “No one called us,” they say from their surroundings to NOTICIAS to calm things down. But the former defense minister is always expectant.
Meanwhile, the people of Tucuman resist and studies what to do: he knows that they are moving the floor, that’s why he is afraid of taking a false step.
