The debate about how Peronism should continue is experienced with special intensity, as expected, among those who are enrolled in that movement.
Juan Cabandié, who was one of the founders of La Cámpora but who is now away, was one of those who expressed an opinion. “Peronism is not a party of the Latin American left. Néstor and Cristina approached the national left and progressivism. Some of those progressives switched to Peronism; I call them neo-Peronists. The problem is when those lead. Let no one get angry, but progressivism is sometimes more on the side of aesthetics than of transformations, they are consignists. If we continue down this path in ten years we will fight for fourth place with Myriam Bregman.”
Daniel Santoro, the renowned artist and painter, was in the same sense. “When Peronism falls into ideological capture, then it becomes right-wing Peronism or left-wing Peronism. One assumes himself as a left-wing Peronist and that would be true Peronism, and the other assumes himself as a right-wing Peronist and that would be true Peronism. Ideological capture is what makes Peronism lose its footing in the popular, the question of the people never has ideological capture.”
Graciana Peñafort, lawyer and activist, also insisted on the idea of avoiding falling into dogmatism: “If we don’t change we are going to be an intense minority.”
Pedro Rosemblat, the influencer who created the Gelatina streaming channel, said: “Something that cost us dearly was clinging to the narratives that our governments had, buying the rhetoric that they imposed on us: much more globalist and left-wing than we truly were and what we essentially are, and that creates serious problems for us in our relationship with the market. That when we win the elections the dollar rises and the country risk is not something to be proud of.”
Jorge Rial, journalist of the Carnaval streaming and host, went even further: “It’s funny to me when Peronism talks about the right as something foreign. As if Peronism were left-wing. Peronism is intrinsically right-wing; it was born from a General who was close to Mussolini’s ideas. When Peronism says: ‘We have to go out and conquer the right’, I tell them: ‘It’s the easiest thing in the world, do it!’ Peronism!’”
Ofelia Fernández, a former legislator and today a Juan Grabois activist, also gave her opinion. “Peronism is at odds with its era, now we are in a conservative version, divorced from its reality. Nobody wants reproducers of the status quo because the status quo is broken and is making everyone feel bad. So until we present an alternative disruption that is equally radicalized but totally connected to the era, it will be impossible for me.”
