Seeking to build momentum ahead of October's election, President Mauricio Macri has called on his supporters to take to the streets of the capital next Saturday for the first in a series of 30 marches backing his presidential bid.
In a statement titled: 'LA MARCHA DEL #SíSePuede: SALIMOS PARA GANAR,' the president used social networks to call on his backers to take command of his re-election campaign.
"I want to invite you to do something powerful, influential, different, something that can tip the election, but we need you in an indispensable way," the president wrote in a message to supporters.
"We will hold 30 meetings in 30 cities to express, in peace and joy, who we are, how many we are, how much we want what we want and to what extent we are willing to fight for it," he wrote. "We call these meetings 'La Marcha del #SíSePuede.'"
After Macri's presidential hopes were severely dented in the August PASO primaries – in which the PRO leader trailed rival Alberto Fernández by 15 points – the government has been searching for a way to rally its base and build momentum ahead of the October 27 vote.
Following a mass demonstration by supporters in front of the Casa Rosada on August 24, campaign managers will now seek to echo the success of that mobilisation with their own official demonstrations.
Last Tuesday, officials from Juntos por el Cambio decided to adopt the slogan 'Sí se puede!' for the run-up to October, a phrase that roughly translates as "Yes, we can," used by former US president Barack Obama in his successful election campaigns.
The president himself will attend the rally in the capital next Saturday, Macri confirmed in his statement.
"The March begins on Saturday, September 28 at 17 [hours] in Barrancas de Belgrano, in Buenos Aires," he wrote. "If you are close, come. We march to win. I am going.
Next Saturday's event will be the first of 30 such marches that will take place in the run-up to October's election. More demonstrations are expected to be announced in the coming days, with campaign chiefs said to be planning one huge final rally days before the election, at a location yet to be defined.
Macri called on supporters to display their allegiances through posts on social media, inviting them to tell their all their friends and family about the event and even to car-share in order to boost numbers.
"This time we are our own media," said Macri, inviting supporters to set up WhatsApp groups to communicate.
– TIMES/NA
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