Senator Martín Lousteau has been trapped in a labyrinth for months, in which he has been accumulating defeats within the UCR. Although he is one of the radical leaders with the best image at the national level, he cannot obtain the support of his co-religionists. A few years ago he was the candidate who could return the leadership of the City of Buenos Aires to the radicals, who have not governed that district since 2000, but that is in doubt today.
Lousteau had forged an alliance with Horacio Rodríguez Larreta that today is in doubt on both sides. The senator cannot guarantee the division of radicalism to accompany him on a presidential adventure and the head of the Buenos Aires Government cannot guarantee that the City will remain in his hands, so the competition is expected to become tougher in the coming months. .
Missteps. Why can’t Lousteau divide radicalism? In recent times he suffered internal defeats against the more traditional UCR led by Gerardo Morales. The first was in the province of Buenos Aires. In the internal election between Maximilano Abad and Gustavo Posse for the presidency of the party, Lousteau supported the latter, which he lost. In the election for the radical youth, Evolución, the party of the economist with the curlers was displaced by the candidate Valeria Pavón, who answers to Gustavo Valdés, the governor of Corrientes. In the internal with Gerardo Morales for the presidency of the National Committee he also lost and they almost ended up punching. She lost the vice presidency of the Senate at the hands of newcomer Carolina Losada, who does not think well of Lousteau for a call she made to her at the beginning of her launch as a candidate, criticizing her sister Georgina. And it is predicted that she will not even have a friendly candidate in the election for the presidency of the National Committee. Gastón Manes and Hernán Rossi face each other in that discussion. The first would go through the Gerardo Morales sector and the second, through the Evolution sector. But Rossi is more a friend of the deputy Emiliano Yacobitti than of Lousteau.
The last noisy move in Lousteau’s space was the breakdown of the bloc in the Chamber of Deputies. There a block of 12 dissident radicals was formed who are in dispute with the traditional UCR. Who heads that crusade is Emiliano Yacobitti, but who presides over the block is Rodrigo De Loredo from Cordoba. This rupture did not have its counterpart in the Senate because, in that case, Lousteau would be left alone. There the senator is part of the radical establishment.
Looking ahead to 2023, Lousteau intends to accompany various candidates throughout the country: Martín Tetaz in the Province of Buenos Aires, Rodrigo De Loredo in Córdoba, Martín Berhongaray in La Pampa, Pablo Cervi in Neuquén, Maximiliano Pullaro in Santa Fe and Fabio Flame in Catamarca.
The unknown is whether by that time the UCR will be united or will continue to be divided.
