While various sectors of Peronism seek to build electoral alternatives for 2027, one figure remains fierce in his loyalty to Cristina Kirchner: her son Máximo. In a context where the Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof consolidates his own army, where former officials such as Victoria Tolosa Paz, Guillermo Michel and Juan Manuel Olmos launch differentiated spaces, and where figures such as Dante Gebel even emerge exploring presidential candidacies, the national deputy and leader of La Cámpora appears as the guardian of a legacy that many consider exhausted but that he defends tooth and nail.
The break between Máximo Kirchner and Kicillof at this point is personal. They have not spoken for more than six months, since that last conversation in October 2025, the night of the electoral defeat in the legislative elections. Since then, the distancing has deepened to unthinkable levels. In private, Máximo refers to the governor with a nickname loaded with Patagonian symbolism: “Yatel”, in reference to the Mapuche chief whose name means “stone.” It is a subtle but forceful way of pointing him out as a “mufa”, as someone who brings bad luck to the political project they shared. According to Máximo, it is all bad news within Kirchnerism since Kicillof appeared on the scene.
The reproaches of harsh Kirchnerism towards the governor are multiple and well-known. They still blame him for the decision to split the provincial elections, which, according to their analysis, not only affected the crop of legislators in Buenos Aires but also weakened Peronism in other districts.
However, Máximo’s loyalty to his mother goes beyond the confrontation with Kicillof. His absence at the governor’s inauguration ceremony as president of the Buenos Aires PJ in April 2026 was an eloquent message. While Kicillof was debuting his new party role, Máximo toured towns in Santa Fe, preferring to “listen to his comrades” rather than stamp a unit photo that he considered false.
Plan. This strategy of public distancing but without definitive rupture responds to a precise calculation. Máximo Kirchner knows that the Peronist electorate continues to identify Kicillof as part of the Kirchnerist universe, beyond the internal disputes that circulate on WhatsApp or social networks. The challenge for La Cámpora is to find a narrative that convincingly explains why they and Kicillof “are not the same,” as a recent analysis of their political situation noted.
Meanwhile, Peronism is reorganized in multiple directions. The May 1 event in Parque Norte, organized by the federal sector of the party, brought together more than 4,000 attendees and Cristina Kirchner was not mentioned. That silence was deliberate and significant. Deputies, mayors, CGT leaders and activists gathered under the slogan “Peronism debates to be a national alternative”, in a clear attempt to mark their own field. Victoria Tolosa Paz, Guillermo Michel, Juan Manuel Olmos and Federico Achával were the main animators of that meeting that sought to present “an alternative” for 2027. They spoke of zero deficit, but with social inclusion, of productive federalism and of a broad Peronism that represents all sectors. There were no Perón and Evita flags, but there was a Peronist march with two fingers in a V. The participation of CGT leaders such as Cristian Jerónimo and Jorge Sola added density to that call. His presence at the Parque Norte event was a message: Peronist unionism will not be automatically subordinated to the directives of Cristina or Máximo.
Faced with this scenario of dispersion, extreme positions emerge. In some circles of the hardest Christianism, the possibility of calling for a blank vote is even being considered if Peronism does not carry the slogan “Cristina Libre” as its campaign flag. Máximo’s strategy seems to be betting on keeping the hard core of Christianity cohesive, hoping that the economic and political conditions of the country will generate a demand for “return” that only his space can capitalize on.
Tour. Meanwhile, Máximo goes out to tour the territory: Santa Fe, Cañuelas, unions, meetings with militants. He talks about the certainties that drive him: that the economy is not going to improve in the next 18 months and that whoever wins in 2027 will have to renegotiate the agreement with the IMF, the same agreement that he refused to validate by resigning from the presidency of the block of deputies, during the presidency of Alberto Fernández.
Today all that remains is to bet on the long term, but Peronism needs immediate answers. And therein lies the fundamental tension: Máximo Kirchner may be Cristina’s last soldier, but the party no longer waits for orders from them. Explore new leadership. The challenge for the son of the former president will be to find a place in that new political map without betraying family loyalty, but also without being frozen in a past that, for many Peronists, can no longer be the future.
