Luke BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 12 – Argentina’s Peronists, hurt by last year’s crushing electoral defeat, are looking for a leader who can offer a message of unity against liberal President Javier Milley. They attack his spending cuts and talk up local initiatives.
But so far, he hasn’t suffered any serious setbacks.
Miley, who advocated austerity to revive Argentina’s faltering finances, broke with the status quo after taking power in December and ousting the left-wing Peronists, a movement founded by Juan Perón and his wife ” in the 1940s and that has dominated local politics ever since. Its founding.
The Peronists, now the main opposition party in Congress, are looking for a way to win back the trust of Argentines who have suffered years of economic instability, high inflation and international isolation. Miley remains popular despite deep cuts in state spending, rising poverty, a deepening recession and cuts to welfare programs.
Askume spoke to six insiders from different Peronist camps who said a broad movement was needed to replace the “failed” old model and find a way to unite a disparate power base from the radical left to the moderate centre.
“We have to send a clear message that there is an alternative and another way to Miley,” said Peronist party deputy Diego Giuliano, an ally of last year’s presidential candidate and former economy minister Sergio Massa.
The Peronists still have no clear leader and are nearly a year away from snap elections that could reset the balance of power in Congress.
Massa has suffered an electoral defeat and an economic downturn that he failed to halt. His former boss, ex-president Alberto Fernández, has been accused of threats and violence against his former partner, charges he denies.
A staunch supporter of divisive Peronism, two-time former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner remains influential but faces six years in prison in 2022 in a high-profile corruption case that she is appealing.
This has left many in the movement looking for change.
“We cannot continue repeating the old failed political model,” said a Peronist official in Buenos Aires province, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said the latest scandal was “devastating.” “What Peronism offers to society must be renewed.”
There are tough times ahead
It’s unclear what the new model will look like.
Axel Kisielov, the Peronist governor of Buenos Aires, described Miley’s spending cuts as “cruel” and encouraged the government to invest in his province. Juan Grabois, a radical lawyer who failed to become the Peronist coalition’s main candidate last year, highlighted rising poverty and hunger, criticizing Miley’s policy of “planned suffering.”
La Rioja Premier Ricardo Quintera launched a competing regional currency to support local spending, while Cordoba Premier Martin Larriola preached moderation to win cross-party allies.
For now, the Peronists are biding their time and hoping that Miley makes a mistake.
So far, he has been indifferent. The Universidad Torcuato de Tella tracker shows his popularity rising sharply in August. Another survey conducted in September by pollster Analogías showed his positive approval rating holding steady at around 48%.
Guillermo Justo Chávez, a government official under Alberto Fernández, said the recent scandal had hurt centrist Peronists and that “new faces” were needed.
“Renovation is critical to the future of this neighborhood,” he said.
Buenos Aires provincial minister Silvina Batakis said the faction was unlikely to unite under a single leader before snap elections in 2025, though she pointed to Quisi Kisilov — a longtime political figure and close friend of Cristina Fernández — as economy minister.
Political analyst Sergio Berenstein said many Peronist leaders were simply in “survival strategy” mode. “Peronism may be heading for a difficult period,” he said.
But Peronism has revived itself several times over the decades and has faced tough times before, most recently against conservative President Mauricio Macri from 2015 to 2019.
“Peronism will be massively united in most provinces (for the mid-term elections),” said former Cabinet prime minister and vice-presidential candidate Agustín Rossi.
