In a new attempt to regain the political influence that unionism has lost in recent decades, two leading figures from the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) met with Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof in La Plata. The meeting aimed to formalize the labor union's support for the governor's political project and, in practice, to demand spots on the candidate lists for the upcoming provincial elections on September 7.
The leaders Héctor Daer (Sanidad) and Andrés Rodríguez (UPCN), members of the CGT's inner circle, led the meeting with Kicillof just hours before the agreement that gave rise to the Fuerza Patria alliance was finalized, the coalition that will bring together the various groups supporting Kirchnerism under a single ballot in Buenos Aires province.
With unionism increasingly detached from workers and more entrenched in party politics, the labor movement is trying to regain institutional spaces it has progressively lost since 1973. According to recent data, since December 2023, union leaders have had the lowest parliamentary representation in the past 50 years.
Andrés Rodríguez himself was explicit in justifying the support: "CGT has already taken sides. The vast majority of its leaders have given our support to Axel Kicillof's government because it is an important factor and because Peronism governs, and it is important for that government to be reaffirmed", he stated.
Far from hiding the political motivations of the union movement, Rodríguez added: "Peronism needs a reorganization, a self-criticism of what happened in recent governments, a reunion of leaders, and it needs to deepen a project".
