“Brothers be united, because that is the first law,” says one of the most repeated verses of Martín Fierro. But in saint Louis they skipped again the teaching of the gaucho: the Rodriguez Saa They are at war, again, in an election year.
The thing is Adolfo, the senatorannounced at the end of January his candidacy for governor to try to replace alberto. But the provincial president, who manages the local PJ and who managed to expel his brother from the party, prevents him from competing within Peronism. From there, the tension increases.
divided. “If we are an authentic expression of Justicialism, why don’t they allow the movement to meet and decide who the candidates are?” Adolfo asked at the end of January, after announcing that he wanted to compete again for the governorship, which he held in five periods. When applying, he had given his brother Alberto de él until February 15 to re-affiliate him with the PJ puntanofrom where he expelled him in 2019. It did not happen.
For this reason, the demonstrations began in mid-February: a group of people entered the basic unit of the PJ with Argentine flags and the legend “Adolfo we love you”, to show their discontent at the governor’s inaction. In order for them to stop their attempted occupation, they cut off their water and internet: after 48 hours the group of protesters withdrew.
But Adolfo did not cease in his aspirations: if he cannot join Justicialismo and compete against Alberto’s candidate, former judge Jorge “Gato” Fernández, will participate outside, with the opposition. “You have to make a provincial convergence, an agreement with other political parties that are not in the ruling party,” he declared publicly. In a province where the slogan law was reinstated, subtracting votes from the PJ to add them to another political force could be lethal for the governor’s political aspirations.
The truth is that, prevented by the Constitution from competing for his fifth term and equaling his brother, Alberto had to choose his dauphin (see box). And Adolfo, by removing his votes from the ruling party, could favor Claudio Poggi, former governor and main opposition candidate. 2023 could surprise with a provincial leader who is not called Rodríguez Saá.
Movements. The San Luis governor ended up moving away from the national government and is increasingly isolated. With the versatility that characterizes the Rodriguez Saa, last year he came to sound like one of the possible candidates for vice de Alberto Fernandezbut also showed hyper K when sharing acts with Amado Boudou, Fernando Vaca Narvaja and Gabriel Mariotto.
The last act of rebellion occurred days ago, when together with the Cordovan governor Juan Schiaretti they split the bloc of the Frente de Todos in the Senate, complicating the quorum for Cristina Kirchner. The San Luis María Eugenia Catalfamo It is already part of the new Federal Unit block, led by Schiaretti’s wife, Alejandra Vigo.
It is the final attempt by the governor of San Luis to show himself far from Kirchnerism, in the quest to retain power in his province. A month ago, he closed ranks with schiaretti, who will be a candidate for president, to create a “moderate Peronist” space. For now, there is no news on the front: neither Gustavo Bordet from Entre Ríos nor Omar Perotti from Santa Fe, who were the main targets, quickly joined the space. Uncertainty reigns.
Statistics. The truth is that whoever succeeds Alberto in the governorship will have a lot of work to do. It is that San Luis has been failing in the different indices that are published: according to the consultant FMyA, the province of the Rodríguez Saá is the only one with a deficit in the country. But the most alarming data emerged days ago, when INDEC reported that it is the third district with the most poor children in Argentina, only behind Chaco and Formosa. “This is a situation that occurs throughout the country and you have to see how this data is collected,” they justified themselves from the government. Far are the puntanos from the times of opulence.
On March 1, he found the brothers under the same roof. Adolfo and Alberto were in Congress to listen to the President’s speech at the start of Ordinary Sessions. Of course, there were no crosses between them.
Far from honoring Martín Fierro, the brothers are about to go to a new separate election. And, this time, the family division threatens to put them out of power.
The former judge who is Alberto’s dolphin
Without the possibility of competing for his fifth term and equaling his brother Adolfo, due to the limitations of the provincial Constitution, Alberto already shows his dolphin in each official act: the former minister of the local Supreme Court, Jorge “Gato” Fernández. Until then, the one who was dreaming of succeeding the president was another Rodríguez Saá: “Albertito”, the son. But he ended up declining his father’s offer. Now Fernández is meeting with political leaders to try to retain power in the elections that will be held on June 11 and promises that the pro-government project will continue. “He is the candidate who is out of the crack,” the governor introduced him. However, the Rodríguez Saá family fight could work against him: Adolfo will go outside the PJ and could benefit the opposition candidate, Claudio Poggi, with the slogan law.
