Cristina Kirchner demonstrates her power within Peronism in the Plaza de Mayo

Christina Kirchner is the most powerful leader of Peronism. She made this clear this Thursday in front of thousands of people in the Plaza de Mayo, where she was the only speaker at an event marking the 20th anniversary of her husband, the late Nestor Kirchner’s coming to power. For an hour, he talked a lot about the past and little or nothing about the present. It didn’t matter much, at least in political terms. Kirchner took the stage to demonstrate her power of convocation within the government coalition, the Frente de Todos, and clarified that she would lay out an electoral strategy for general elections in October. President Alberto Fernandez was also not invited to the event. While his vice president spoke on a huge podium in front of the Casa Rosada, he traveled to the Atlantic coast to take advantage of the celebration’s bridge on May 25, the national day.

The ruling party in Argentina has no candidate for October’s elections and this Thursday the crowd was hoping for at least a clue. Kirchner did not. We had to be content with seeing faces populating the stage. Behind him, very close, was the interior minister, Eduardo de Pedro, his man in the Fernández cabinet. and the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, the person chosen by the Vice President as the final table in the event of a crisis. This hasn’t gone well for Massa, who has so far done little to prevent inflation above 100% per year or the Central Bank’s international reserves from drying up. But Kirchner and Peronism don’t have much choice.

“What better place than to meet again in Plaza de Mayo, Plaza de la Patria. Exactly 20 years ago we arrived with him (con Néstor Kirchner) here, at this crossroads”, the Vice President said at the beginning of his speech. He then strung together ideas that were already known without reading: he defended his management as president, criticized former President Mauricio Macri, the media, the International Monetary Fund, and called the Supreme Court “indecent”. Considered a blow. He then called for putting together a project that would make progressive voters “fall in love” with him again and criticized those who call for an end to Peronism. He told the crowd, “Why eliminate Peronism, if winning is enough.”

The afternoon was ready for a Kirchnerist epic. It had rained all day in Buenos Aires and people filled the Plaza de Mayo early, despite the fact that Cristina Kirchner was scheduled to speak around four in the afternoon. There was great hope. “Go to the square to see what I say”, the vice president declared days earlier in his first television interview in six years as thousands of militants waited for him to make an election decision a month after polls concluded. list for august primaries

“It has to be him,” said 64-year-old Elvira, who arrived with her friend Susana from Lujan, two hours away by bus from Buenos Aires province. “He called us and here we are. We are not leaving her, she is not leaving people to hang. When, a few minutes after three o’clock in the afternoon, a voice over a loudspeaker in the square announced that Kirchner was about to take the stage, lines of people took shelter against the buildings on Avenida Diagonal Norte, under the scaffolding of the Cabeldo Building. And tents covering a few scattered grills began to sing: “President! Christina President!” The slogan was applauded on stage while the Vice President took the stage.

Dale, say it! A young man was encouraged to shout as the Vice President spoke for about 20 minutes about the achievements of his first government and the militants watched him silently on screens around the square. Her screams broke the lethargy and again urged that Kirchner run for president. He didn’t do that. Neither did he point to anyone else, despite the fact that three of Peronism’s favorites surrounded him on stage as he spoke. “If it’s not going to be him, we still need to pick him. We have to start militarizing our candidate,” said Nestor Flores, 24, who traveled from La Matanza, a Kirchnerist electoral bastion on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. The Vice President said goodbye as the first rumble of the storm sounded and the square fell silent. Those who hear the name of the chosen one will have to wait.

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