The electoral starter’s pistol has been fired in Buenos Aires City and tensions are already rising between right-wing parties La Libertad Avanza and PRO parties, who are targeting the same set of voters.
PRO, which has ruled the capital since 2017 and considers it to be its stronghold, is increasingly concerned by attacks from libertarian rivals, who are ramping up criticism of current Mayor Jorge Macri and his administration.
Candidates for the upcoming City elections on May 18 were finalised last weekend and – now that campaigning has begun in earnest – sparks are already beginning to fly.
PRO – led by former president Mauricio Macri – has lent vital support to the ruling party over the past 17 months, helping President Javier Milei secure the passage of key legislation in Congress.
Despite the hook-up, however, and their ideological similarities, the two parties have yet to seal a formal alliance and will go head-to-head in the City midterms.
Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni, who will run as La Libertad Avanza’s top candidate in the City, said this week that the ruling and PRO had not sealed an alliance “because they do not have the same agenda.”
"We have to defend our ideas and try to apply them. That does not mean that they are enemies," he said about the link with the PRO.
Tensions between the parties, however, seem to be rising as the election creeps closer.
Darío Nieto, the president of PRO’s caucus in the City legislature who is running for re-election this May, this week accused Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei of wanting to “disappear” his party.
“Karina Milei, in her eagerness to make the PRO disappear, feels that the City is the bastion of our party and that is why she has come to break everything,” he told Radio Splendid AM 990.
He argued that the right-wing vote in the capital would be split, a move that “generates the risk that Kirchnerism wins” – a reference to the Peronist candidate Leandro Santoro.
Accusing La Libertad Avanza of “political selfishness,” Nieto said that PRO had “always shown a willingness to work together,” unlike the ruling party.
At a campaign launch event this week, PRO’s electoral team in the capital vowed to avoid dirty tactics and rejected predictions from the national government that the party could finish fourth in the City midterms.
“We want to commit ourselves to democratic coexistence and dialogue, because that will improve not only the City, but also the country,” said the head of the party’s campaign, national deputy María Eugenia Vidal.
One party source, refusing to be named, accused La Libertad Avanza of attempting “terrorism” and of being obsessed with ruining PRO’s electoral chances.
Initial polling published this week showed PRO in front with a projected vote share of 28.5 percent, followed by Unión por la Patria (UxP) with 23.2 percent and La Libertad Avanza (LLA) on 22.5 percent.
Adorni boldly predicted this week that the ruling party would finish first, with Peronism’s Santoro in second, former Buenos Aires City mayor (and ex-PRO co-founder) Horacio Rodrïguez Larreta in third and PRO, with lead candidate Silvia Lospennato, coming in fourth.
Attempting to cut off the first line of attack from PRO against his candidacy, Adorni said in a press conference this week that he would “step aside” as spokesperson to focus on a legislative role, if elected.
“It goes without saying: if elected, if the people elect me, I will of course step aside and focus on the Buenos Aires City Legislature from December 10,” he said.
For now, despite campaigning, he will “continue to represent the President and I will be the voice of the government as I have been until now,” said Adorni.
The candidate also aimed a jab at Jorge Macri this week after the City mayor accused him of “not knowing” the capital.
"Quite strange: I have lived in the City of Buenos Aires for many years, unlike the former Buenos Aires Province mayor [of Vicente López]," responded the spokesperson on social media.
– TIMES
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