The negative campaign is not a modern departure from current electoral disputes, but today it once again occupies a central place in the internal debate over Peronism, given the need to build new leadership in an increasingly hostile scenario. The definition of what is coming is circulating in the party corridors without euphemisms: “It’s time for predators.” Whoever wants to be will have to start showing themselves in the coming months. There, the biggest challenge will be surviving the internal and external transitions in response to a campaign of destruction.
In order to regain power, Peronism realized that it had to resume dialogue with the electorate to whom it had long since stopped listening. The suggestions must be. But when fighting with the other, it just as much depends on who the player is who is willing to lead the fight.
Mudslinging is an ancient tool studied and used for decades, perfected thanks to the fact that attack as an electoral strategy has found friendly territory in unregulated areas such as social networks in recent years. Here, the lack of controls and the difficulty of assigning direct responsibilities to sponsors contribute to the fact that smearing the opponent has its advantages. Added to this is the media, which no longer has any inhibitions about reporting scandals about some candidates during the election campaign, even though none of them subsequently end up in legal lawsuits.
Authoritarians don’t like that
The practice of professional and critical journalism is a mainstay of democracy. That is why it bothers those who believe that they are the owners of the truth.
“The one who knows best how to destroy the other will win,” they admit in the Unión por la Patria bunker. Faced with this scenario, there are experienced leaders who are already warning that “2027 will not be for everyone.” “How many do you see who endure three days in a row on the national broadcaster while different media outlets take action against them, and risk being constantly attacked on the broadcasters?” says a Peronist about the right-wing campaign aimed at preventing the Unión por la Patria from returning to power.
There are no surprises with the renewal for the time being. Axel Kicillof put his plans into action this week, showing up in Formosa in search of a federal project that would give the interior a voice. The governor of Buenos Aires knows how to counter dirty campaigns. That won’t be a problem for him. His biggest challenge will be to overcome the internal conflict with Kirchnerism and manage the largest province for two more years, amid an economic crisis that is playing tricks on him.
“Up to this point, Axel has shown the people of Buenos Aires that he can do what the nation-state could not. The next few months will be more difficult for him, the numbers will not allow him to show that the province is covered with a protective shield,” assesses one leader. And he adds: “Given the adjustments that need to be made, it must change its discourse. If the province is bad, it is because of the national state and that must be clear ahead.”
Who is also not afraid of the raid is Sergio Massa. He knows how to play in the mud, but says nothing about his intentions to try again. He is not in a hurry like other possible candidates who have to go to the field to improve their image, but rather he has to wait for the economic situation to indicate that his last government will eventually be able to compete with the current one. The Tigrense knows how to measure time and can watch many go by without getting upset.
Kirchnerism must have an option to fight Kicillof internally. At the moment they don’t dare to have a pure candidate and Cristina Kirchner starts looking for some allies to fight against. A Sergio Uñac and even a Gerardo Zamora could be on the list.
The former San Juan governor and current senator has come and gone in his relationship with the two-time president, but he knows he won’t get far without her support. Today it is part of a space that the PJ’s head grows without being vertical. The other former provincial chief, who also just took office in the Senate, is being closely followed from San José 1111. The man from Santiago is a loyal ally, but cannot act as a representative of Kirchnerism and lose his critics. His arrival in Buenos Aires will involve him in a national dispute that he must warn about if he wants to take part. “Are these possible candidates who are not used to being scrutinized in the upcoming election campaign?” asks a Peronist, pointing out four monitors with channels ready to support the libertarian line.
In Peronism, they look to the other side with some advantage in the event that Milei arrives with a chance of re-election. “His advantage is twofold: he does not have a family behind him that does not rely on public pressure, and he has shown a resilience to scandals that no other politician has had,” they admit.
And just as the Unión por la Patria must have a candidate resistant to everything, they are waiting to see what happens in the coming weeks with performances like Dante Gebel’s. As a pastor, actor and speaker, answering that it is not his fault to be blessed by God may be enough to justify his wealth. But to get into politics you need a lot more than the nice-sounding phrases you usually throw away. How many will be able to survive on one side or the other?
A new bloc of governors appears
Within the positions of Peronism, the leaders’ statement that President Javier Milei has decided to exclude himself from the dialogue with the provinces is also very well received. Axel Kicillof from Buenos Aires, Gildo Insfrán from Formosa, Ricardo Quintela from Rioja and Gustavo Melella from Tierra del Fuego met at the Casa de La Pampa in the city of Buenos Aires, where Governor Sergio Ziliotto was the host. The new head of the executive branch of Santiago del Estero, Elías Suárez, also took part. The meeting took place on Tuesday as the ruling party finalized the majority opinion on the 2026 budget in the lower house. They expect to maintain “a political and institutional agenda in the National Congress” and “seek the exchange of ideas and agreements necessary to build majorities across party or sector affiliations.” A gesture of articulation, but also of negotiation. “We will be part of any initiative that promotes the well-being of the whole and we will oppose those who seek to deprive the provinces of resources and rights,” they warned.
CFK was hospitalized
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was transferred to the Otamendi sanatorium this Saturday afternoon. According to one statement, he suffered from “abdominal discomfort” and then “doctors went to his home and after a thorough examination concluded that a more comprehensive examination was required in the said sanatorium.”
“All news will be communicated through the medical departments of the facility,” they reported from San Jose 1111.
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