In a desperate attempt to maintain territorial power in the face of growing popular rejection, Axel Kicillof, Sergio Massa, and Máximo Kirchner officially announced on Wednesday the creation of a new Peronist coalition in the province of Buenos Aires, which will compete in the September 7 elections under the name Fuerza Patria. The decision was sealed after a marathon meeting in La Plata, the third in just a few days, and was confirmed by their teams late Wednesday, just hours before the legal deadline for the registration of alliances.
The name of the new coalition was a direct proposal from Kirchnerismo, which managed to impose its ideological stamp despite internal friction. The small group that signed the agreement was made up exclusively of Kicillof, Massa, and Máximo Kirchner, who sought to mask deep internal differences with gestures of supposed unity. However, far from representing a programmatic synthesis, the coalition expresses an electoral engineering of compromise: "joint" lists, distribution of positions, and latent tensions over proportional representation.
Axel Kicillof, Sergio Massa y Máximo Kirchner.
According to confirmation, the legal representatives of the parties that make up the new front signed the internal regulations to formalize the alliance. Nevertheless, those regulations have not yet been released, and the definitive mechanism for the selection of candidates remains unknown. The sharpest differences revolve around who will define the heads of the list in the eight electoral sections and how legislative positions will be distributed.
From the Movimiento Derecho al Futuro (MDF), the group aligned with Kicillof, they insist that the governor himself should have the final say: "They have to be the best", they maintain, downplaying internal balance. Other sectors demand collegial decisions among the three main blocs of the group.
The newly formed Electoral Board of "Fuerza Patria" was composed of Carlos Bianco (Buenos Aires Government Minister, for Kicillofismo), Leonardo Nardini (mayor of Malvinas Argentinas, for PJ Kirchnerista), and Rubén Eslaiman (Buenos Aires head of Frente Renovador, Massista). This trio will be responsible for arbitrating the internal process, although a fierce dispute over the detailed regulations in the coming days can't be ruled out.
Coalición ''Fuerza Patria.
In addition to Frente Renovador, PJ Bonaerense, and Kirchnerismo, the coalition will include: Patria de los Comunes, Principios y Valores, Partido del Trabajo y del Pueblo, Unidad Popular, Frente Patria Grande, Acción Marplatense, Innovar (Bragado neighborhood party), and Partido de la Victoria. Many of these groups contribute little electoral weight but are key to the legal structuring of the lists.
During the last 48 hours, the legal delegates of these groups —among them Sebastián Galmarini, Eduardo Cergnul, Facundo Tignanelli, Patricia García Blanco, Mariano Cascallares, and Agustina Vila— worked against the clock drafting the regulations. The focus was on safeguarding the institutional architecture of a coalition that was built behind closed doors, with little participation from the grassroots and without clear programmatic definitions.
In the immediate term, the dispute will shift to the negotiation of positions on the legislative lists, both at the provincial and municipal levels. "Most likely, unity will be sealed today, but tomorrow another battle begins", said a leader familiar with the talks.
Although Kirchnerismo is trying to present this arrangement as a sign of political maturity, the truth is that "Fuerza Patria" doesn't represent real unity but rather a leadership agreement forced by the need not to lose control of the country's main Peronist stronghold. Old formulas, same surnames, and recycled strategies that have little to do with new social demands.
