The landing of Augustine Rossi as chief of staff It was a movement forced by the departure of Juan Manzur but it is still a political commitment of the Government in campaign times. First, for your Relationship with the different actors of the Frente de Todos and, second, for his knowledge of the province of Santa Fesomething that generates some expectations in the face of the serious problem of drug trafficking in Rosario.
One of Rossi’s main tasks will be the coordination and dialogue between the various factions of the ruling party in the midst of the internal tensions that affected the management headed by the president Alberto Fernandez and that, in addition, they could be ordered or worsened from the meeting of the political table of the Frente de Todos scheduled for this Thursday.
This mission is explained, according to sources from the Casa Rosada to iProfessional, in the fact of having “worked with everyone”, from Néstor and Cristina Kirchner to Alberto Fernández. “Everyone knows him and values his ability”, they point out in the ruling party while remarking that the commitment to Rossi is to appease the short circuits and add volume to the management for the election campaign.
in the recent past Rossi played more in favor of Fernández than of Kirchnerism in the internal and even stood up for a candidacy in the 2021 legislative elections against the list that Cristina Kirchner had agreed with the governor of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti. However, in the ruling They think that this is not against the role that the government wants to give it.
And it is that Rossi’s leap into national politics occurred during the government of Néstor Kirchner in 2005, when he was elected head of the then powerful ruling bloc of the Chamber of Deputies. There he played a central role -already under the presidency of Cristina Kirchner- in the fight with the agricultural entities and the debate on Resolution 125 increase in withholdings.
Rossi, new chief of staff: does the Santa Fe crisis influence his appointment?
From that past as head of the block of the Kirchner governments a good relationship survives with this sector From the Front of All. In addition, the new head of the Cabinet is also a kind of reference for the current president of the bench of deputies, German Martinez, who claims to be a Kirchnerist. Both are from Santa Fe.
The ruling party is betting that Rossi can appease the inmate to strengthen the management for the campaign
The origin of Rossi it is also something that is mentioned as an important element since Fernández made the decision to appoint him instead of Manzur, due to the problem that Santa Fe is going through due to the increase in drug violence in Rosario, which led to criticism from the Province of the national government and a strong cross between Perotti and the minister of Security, Aníbal Fernández.
According to sources in the province of Santa Fe slipped to iProfessional, Rossi and Perotti have not had a good relationship since the 2021 electoral campaign due to the criticism that the now chief of staff launched against the provincial management. However, they believe that in the face of the crisis that Rosario is going through with drug trafficking, these short-circuits could eventually be set aside.
This week Alberto Fernández held a reserved meeting with Perotti. The purpose of the meeting, confirmed to this medium by provincial sources, was to lower the tension and analyze the possibility of a greater deployment of federal forces in Rosario. In addition, for months the Province has been demanding that expand the structure of the Federal Justice in that district.
The claim is sustained in the Chamber of Deputies by Roberto Mirabella, Perotti’s man who last December did not hide his discomfort with the leadership of the official block due to the delay in the treatment of this initiative. The relationship, as this medium learned, was restored. Now in Santa Fe they hope that this project will advance together with other measures by the Nation.
“You have to see how the ‘Goat’ plays in his new role, but it is true that he knows the province, understands the problems and can contribute,” considered one of the sources consulted. His recent stint at the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI), his knowledge of the province, and his fluid relationship with the head of the bloc of deputies come together in that expectation.
What did Alberto Fernández say about his third chief of staff?
During the act in which Rossi was sworn in, the President ratified the role they want to give Rossi in the framework of the difficult internal that the Frente de Todos is going through in the face of the electoral campaign.
In Santa Fe there is some expectation about Rossi’s role in the face of the crisis that Rosario is going through with drug trafficking
“Agustín is a man who highly values the unity of our space and will work with me to preserve that unity“, stressed Fernández during the act that took place at the Casa Rosada Bicentennial Museum.
The event also served to give a tenuous sign of distension: the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, a trusted man of Cristina Kirchner, was in the front rowtogether with the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and Manzur, the outgoing Chief of Staff whom Fernández thanked for his work during the ceremony.
Rossi is the third leader who will occupy that strategic office who managed Cafiero until 2021, when he was forced to resign due to pressure from Kirchnerism on Fernández, and then Manzur, who agreed with the President to resign from office to return to Tucumán and share in the elections as Osvaldo Jaldo’s candidate for lieutenant governor.
On the other hand, the president also recalled that he met Rossi during the electoral campaign of Néstor Kirchner in 2003. “We were very few and one day Jorge Argüello came and he told me that there was a councilor in Rosario who could help. Agustín was our man in Santa Fe“.
In this sense, the President highlighted the “tribute to Néstor” that he made together with his new Chief of Staff, to the sign the act with “the black Bic”as the former president had done in 2003.
Who is Augustin Rossi?
Under the Fernández administration, Rossi served as Minister of Defense between 2019 and 2021when he resigned to be a candidate for national senator for Santa Fe. After being defeated in the PASO by the list headed by Marcelo Lewandowski -sponsored by Perotti- the “Goat” returned to the national Executive in June 2022, as AFI controller.
Fernández stressed that he hopes Rossi will help him “preserve the unity” of the Frente de Todos
Alberto Fernández decided to appoint him as chief of staff last week, after agreeing with Manzur his resignation from the national Executive after his arrival in 2021.
Rossi’s career in national politics began in 2005, when he presented himself as “Kirchner’s candidate” for national deputy for Santa Fe. His list came second in the elections. After taking office, he was chosen as President of the ruling bloc.
With intense parliamentary activity, Rossi played that role until 2013when the then president Cristina Kirchner appointed him Minister of Defense by restructuring his government after the defeat in the legislative elections. He remained there until the change of government in 2015 with the arrival of Mauricio Macri to the Presidency.
In the elections legislative of 2017, Rossi presented himself again as a candidate for national deputy. He won the PASO of Peronism but came second overall. He thus returned to the lower house where he was again elected president of the bloc Front for Victory-PJ that at that time was opposition.
