Parties lodge final candidacies after lengthy, heated negotiations

From gender parity to the healing of old political wounds, the negotiation of candidacies for the October 2019 general and presidential elections has been a long and heated affair. It ended Friday when final submissions were made to the country's Electoral College.

Perhaps the most striking candidacy in this year's race is Frente de Todos's Sergio Massa, who leads the ballot representing Buenos Aires province for the national Congress. Massa, who dramatically split from former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, will run alongside Luana Volnovich, who is a member of the La Cámpora youth movement led by Fernández de Kirchner's son Máximo. Leonardo Grosso and Cristina Álvarez Rodríguez are third and fourth on the list, followed by Máximo Kirchner.

With significant chances of gaining seats, the list then includes a series of candidates whose loyalty alternates between Sergio Massa and the Kirchners: Cecilia Moreau, Andrés Larroque, Florencia Lampreabe, Wado de Pedro, Liliana Yambrun, Facundo Moyano, Daniela Vilar, Ramiro Gutiérrez, Claudia Ormaechea, Carlos Castagneto, Alicia Aparicio, Rodolfo Tailhade, María Rosa Martínez and Carlos Selva.

Among the surprises, the mother of one of the 2012 Once train tragedy victims will run as Juntos por Cambio candidate representing Buenos Aires province in the national Congress. María Luján Rey, whose son Lucas died in the dramatic train crash at the Once train station, will second the current provincial Security ministry Cristian Ritondo, supporting Mauricio Macri's re-election campaign on a national level.

The so-called "third option" alliance led by Roberto Lavagna and his vice-presidential candidate, Governor of Salta province, Juan Manuel Urtubey, has Graciela Camaño as its lead candidate for Buenos Aires province. Surprisingly, GEN party leader Margarita Stolbizer will not run. Alejandro "Topo" Rodríguez, Liliana Schwindt and Jorge Ariel Illa will also run on the same list.

BUENOS AIRES CITY

Macri's alliance, rebranded Juntos por Cambio from the previous Cambiemos, will run Civic Coalition party member Maximiliano Ferraro as its lead candidate to represent Buenos Aires City in the national Congress.

Ferraro, an ally of firebrand lawmaker Elisa Carrió, is followed by Social Development Ministry official Victoria Morales Gorleri, Radical party member Emiliano Yacobitti. Representing the PRO, Radical and Civic Coalition parties that conform the coalition are the following candidates in order of appearance on the ticket: Mariana Zuvic, Álvaro González, Dolores Martínez, Pablo Tonelli, Dina Rezinovsky, Roberto Quattromano, Patricia Holzman, Gustavo Bobbio and Virginia Luna.

Senator Fernando Solanas will lead the Frente de Todos alliance as its lead candidate for the Lower House representing Buenos Aires City. His position at the top of the list caused controversy within the broad-church alliance, after Victoria Donda, who demanded top spot, was relegated to fourth place.

Solanas leads the ticket ahead of Paula Penacca, Itai Hagman, Donda and former Ambassador to the Vatican Eduardo Vadlés.

-TIMES/PERFIL