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Buenos Aires (AFP) – The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, announced this Friday that he will not stand for re-election in the general elections in October, a step that was demanded of him by his own center-left coalition, Frente de Todos, which has not yet defined a candidate.
“Next December 10, 2023 is the exact day we celebrate 40 years of democracy. That day I will hand over the presidential sash to whoever has been legitimately elected at the polls by popular vote. I will work fervently so that it is someone who represents our political space,” said Fernández in a video posted this Friday on his Twitter account.
In his almost eight-minute statement, under the title “My decision”, the 64-year-old president recounted the indebtedness and inflation conditions in which the country received when he took office in 2019, later aggravated by the Covid pandemic. -19, the war in Ukraine and currently due to “a brutal drought”, as he listed.
“I have to concentrate the efforts, the commitment and the heart in solving the problems of the Argentines”, he insisted in a kind of balance of his management.
The president assured that the Frente de Todos “needs to generate a new virtuous cycle in which others are empowered to win back the hearts of those who continue to see us as the space that guarantees that the right will not return to bring us its nightmare and its darkness.”
Fernández announced his decision in the context of a complicated economic situation, with very high inflation (7.7% in March and 104% annualized) and a negative image of close to 70%, according to a recent survey by the consultancy Poliarquía.
“necessary step”
She also accuses the wear generated by her strong disagreements with the vice president and former president Cristina Kirchner, who had promoted her candidacy in 2019 in formula with her.
Former chief of staff of Cristina Kirchner, and before her husband, the late former president Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), the 2019 election was the first election in which Fernández participated throughout his political career.
The president’s decision was considered by the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo ‘Wado’ de Pedro —a possible candidate for the Frente de Todos— as “a necessary step to begin to order Peronism, give it vitality and dream again.”
Meanwhile, the head of the cabinet of ministers, Agustín Rossi, also a possible candidate for the candidacy, cited the late former president Juan Domingo Perón, ideologue and founder of Peronism.
“First the Homeland, then the Movement and finally the men. This is how those who know that places are occupied by and for the people understand and do politics,” he wrote on Twitter.
First the Homeland, then the Movement and finally the men. This is how those who know that places are occupied by and for the people understand and do politics.
Proud to be a member of the FdT and to be JGM of the President’s Government @alferdez— Agustín Rossi (@RossiAgustinOk) April 21, 2023
Argentina will hold the first round of the presidential elections on October 22, with a possible second round on November 19.
Before, on August 13, political parties must hold mandatory primary elections.
Primary elections
“I believe that the PASO (Compulsory Primaries) are the vehicle for society to select the best men and women from our front who best represent us. As president of the Justicialista Party (PJ, Peronism) I am going to guarantee that everyone who feel empowered to do it,” said Fernández.
In the ruling party, Kirchner publicly gave up seeking the presidency or any other elective position, after last December the court sentenced her to six years in prison and political disqualification for corruption.
It is speculated that the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, could launch his application if he manages to improve the economic situation, especially inflation.
The ambassador in Brazil, Daniel Scioli, the governor of Chaco, Jorge Capitanich, and the social leader Juan Grabois also expressed their willingness to run.
In the opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio (center-right), former President Mauricio Macri decided not to opt for the presidential candidacy. Instead, the mayor of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, has already begun his campaign for the primaries, as has the former Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich.
In third place, according to the polls, would be representative Javier Milei, a 52-year-old “libertarian” economist and politician who wields a strong right-wing and anti-system discourse.
In addition to electing president and vice president for a period of four years, Argentines will renew in the October elections half of the Chamber of Deputies, with 257 members, and a third of the Senate, with 72 members.
If no presidential formula obtains 45% of the votes or 40% with a difference of at least 10 points over the second, a second round will be held.
with AFP
