X-ray of La Cámpora’s growth

Born during the lifetime of Néstor Kirchner with an identity bringing together the next generation of those in power, greedy and spoiled, the 2015 defeat and the political wilderness which followed obliged them to mutate towards a more cautious politics, with the objective of not harming the ruling coalition nor betraying excessive ambitions. All those years served La Cámpora as an apprenticeship for changing their relationships with other coalition partners. Uncomfortable with the phrase “growing up,” their members say that the experience has been useful “to evolve.” But one thing seems clear – they are making a huge effort to avoid being accused of conspiring against Frente de Todos and breaking it up prematurely. That self-imposed limitation has not prevented two constants repeated throughout 2020: that the other coalition groupings making up the government spectrum continue to see it as being as greedy as ever and that every time an official drops out, a name from La Cámpora immediately pops up as the potential replacement.

La Cámpora’s leaders work against the “danger of anti-politics.” They are more of a dam than a threat. The move of an eloquent Máximo Kirchner towards the centre of the grouping includes betting on the medium term, as can be clearly seen in his alliance with Sergio Massa, a bitter rival as from 2013. Their agreements goes beyond the walls of Congress, permitting Kirchner a channel of negotiation with a business world which has been associated with Massa for at least a decade, a business bloc with permanent interests – media owners; energy sector hubs like Marcelo Mindlin, the Bulgheroni family and José Luis Manzano; and bankers from the financial system like the late Jorge Brito.

Until now at least, La Cámpora has found it difficult to break into the unconvinced who continue to see it, in the best of cases, as a closed and remote structure. Along with territorial expansion, there remains pending a relationship with the electorate beyond the high floor of adhesions which Cristina still retains, an enviable base which nevertheless does not suffice to win elections. That is one of the main challenges for the greater goal pursued by its leaders every day – to be, at some stage, the leadership of pan-Peronism and the main face of the government.

* Diego Genoud, journalist and author of ‘El peronismo de Cristina’