The celebration of millions of Argentines for winning the World Cup showed an unprecedented image in the history of the country. What changes for the election year
For Natalia Vaccarezza
12/23/2022 – 9:45 p.m.
The five million Argentines who took to the streets of the City of Buenos Aires to welcome the winning team of the World Cup opened a debate on the level of convocation to which political leaders can aspire the country in the middle of an election year. No one can take credit for the successful crowd on Tuesday, which poses a challenge to politics about how society acts in the face of a victory, especially for the ruling party, which usually bets on massive popular acts.
The moment of the festivities left a bitter taste because it added a new chapter to the internal fights between the Government and the AFA, led by Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, who ended up congratulating the Buenos Aires Minister of Security, Sergio Berni, without mentioning the operation of the national forces led by Aníbal Fernández.
Despite the fact that the Government wanted to score several points with the attempt to take the players to the balcony of the Casa Rosada, this was not possible due to the differences that separate soccer from politics. Alberto Fernandez He had to settle for a post on social networks in which he celebrated “the way in which the people took to the streets to honor” the National Team. The President swore that he did not want a photo with the champions, but he did everything possible to convince them to visit the presidential office.
Politics, faced with the challenge of reconvening a crowd
It will be difficult for the ruling party to achieve a mobilization as populated as it was last Tuesday. In fact, any political act would be small if compared to the number of people who went to the Obelisk. For any political party will be a bigger challenge fill the streets of Buenos Aires with electoral motivation.
Next Tuesday the vice president Cristina Kirchner will reappear after the sentence in the “Vialidad” case during an act in the Buenos Aires Avellaneda party organized by the mayor Jorge Ferraresi, which will confirm the strong contrast between politics and what the national soccer team generated.
The analysis that can be made of the tide of Argentines who came out to celebrate is that there was no crack. It could be adjudicated to the need of only celebrate a triumphsince there is no other reason for celebration when inflation will close 2022 at 100%, after two years of pandemic and confinement.
Historic demonstration: 5 million people took to the streets… and politics had nothing to do with it.
The popular fervor for the National Team has never been seen at this level in political matters. The previous largest gathering in the Obelisk and its surroundings took place during the Bicentennial celebrations on May 25, 2010 with Cristina Kirchner as hostess. It is clear that it was another unusual scene in the town on the emblematic 9 de Julio avenue, from which Kirchnerism claimed all the revenues.
The organization of the festivities and the triumph of the Selection, in addition, returned to confront the political leaderswho complained about the holiday decreed by the Executive and about the insufficient security measures to contain the crowd.
A spontaneous crowd, far from politics
The five million people who celebrated on Tuesday were surprised by how spontaneous they appeared in the streets. This type of manifestation -atypical- remained far from the reaction of the Kirchner militants when they organized various events in support of the vice president after the assassination attempt and the conviction of the Highway Administration case.
The power of convocation is very different from the organization of a political act, where it is usually scheduled with more time and with the support of the political bases that mobilize the militants to the places. The last public presentation of Cristina Kirchner It was on November 17, the Day of the Peronist Militant, when 50,000 people attended the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in La Plata.
Thanks to the triumph in the World Cup, the collective feeling of belonging was able to express itself again in another popular festival and, for many, it was enough to see the National Team fly by in a helicopter. There was nothing to protest or claim, but to celebrate with flags and light blue and white shirts. The unanimity of the sports celebration he put aside any political differences among the millions of Argentines who gathered to honor their idols.
There will be a distancing from society What translates to the political? For the remainder of the year, no acts or calls with electoral overtones are planned. The piqueteros are the only ones who take over the streets of Buenos Aires with demands for social plans and food for soup kitchens before Christmas.
Politics will have to modify the way of summoning the masses, without the world champion Argentina shirts. The opposition will not have so many problems, because it is not about calling massive events. Will he have better results in the 2023 elections?
