Governor Axel Kicillof and the Buenos Aires chief of staff, Martín Insaurralde / Web
In the Governor’s Office, it is estimated that towards the end of May or the beginning of June, Axel Kicillof will have to get a hand in his cabinet. It is not a decision that has to do with management needs but with the electoral definitions that will necessarily end up having an impact on his administration.
These possible movements are closely related to the decision of many Peronist leaders to retreat to their districts with the aim of conserving territories. Also, with the purpose of, from there, pushing the Buenos Aires ballot from “bottom up” that will surely be led by Kicillof himself.
The mayors will play a central role in the Buenos Aires strategy of the Frente de Todos. Therefore, several of them who are on leave in their districts and make up the Buenos Aires cabinet will surely follow the path already taken by their national peers who decided to return to their communes such as Juan Zabaleta in Hurlingham (former Minister of Social Development) and Jorge Ferraresi in Avellaneda (the former holder of the Housing portfolio).
In the case of the Province there are two well-known cases. Martín Insaurralde, from Loma, is Kicillof’s chief of staff. Meanwhile, Leonardo Nardini heads the Ministry of Public Works.
These are two key portfolios for the Buenos Aires administration. The Chief of Staff signs all kinds of resolutions and the bidding for a large part of the works carried out by the Province passes through Public Works, a key input in the electoral year.
It is estimated that Insaurralde could once again be a candidate for mayor of Lomas de Zamora if he does not come up with a plan B to accompany Kicillof in the provincial formula, a space for which the current lieutenant governor Verónica Magario is registered.
Nardini would also have resolved to return, in this case to Malvinas Argentinas.
There are two other cases. The Director of Roads is Hernán Y Zurieta, licensed mayor of Punta Indio. Meanwhile, Héctor Olivera, who chairs the Water Authority, could return to his district, Tordillo.
a special case
There is a fifth case. Gustavo Menéndez, licensed in Merlo, is the president of Grupo Banco Provincia. However, a possible double role would not be an impediment for him to leave the position at the credit institution. “During the Vidal government, Jorge Macri was president of the group and he never stopped being mayor of Vicente López,” they recall in the ruling party.
The landing of mayors in the Kicillof team occurred around the end of September 2021, after the defeat that the Frente de Todos experienced in the Primary elections of that year.
Led by Máximo Kirchner and with the endorsement of Cristina Kirchner, these mayors came to give political volume to the provincial team. The electoral comeback of the ruling party in the October generals ended up strengthening the role of the new members of the provincial team.
Although there is no confirmation regarding the candidacies of these officials, it is estimated that they will end up playing strong in their districts. And that decision will make them leave the Buenos Aires cabinet.
“It will be their decision. We are not going to do the same thing that Alberto Fernández did, who ordered that the officials who were candidates should resign, ”they say in the Province. They basically refer to the case of Agustín Rossi, who was a minister and had to leave because he signed up to compete for a seat in Santa Fe.
However, it is discounted that the functions in the Executive and a full campaign in their districts will end up becoming incompatible. Buenos Aires sources indicate that Kicillof has not yet spoken with these officials about his political future, but perhaps the talk will take place shortly.
replacements
The other question to be resolved has to do with the replacements of these eventual candidates. “There is no decision made”, it is admitted close to the Governor.
One of the closest possibilities is that an official who is already in the current teams of the outgoing players can take over to avoid the inevitable pothole of a transition. Name appointments outside of management, by contrast, could make it hard for some of those key portfolios.
In the Buenos Aires government they assure that, for now, none of the mayors currently on leave in the Executive branch raised the issue of their departure to face a possible new electoral challenge.
However, it is expected that several of these movements, if not all, will end up taking place between May and the first days of June. And there Kicillof must define the replacements.
The case of the occasional official who could be a candidate for legislator is different. In principle, in the Government they consider that there would be no need for them to leave office to campaign.
