The Buenos Aires neighborhood where Milei votes will have a popular consultation on the same day.

On the next May 18, the residents of Boedo and Almagro, within Commune 5 of the  City of Buenos Aires, will have the opportunity to officially define the name of their jurisdiction in a popular consultation.

This process will be carried out simultaneously with the election of Buenos Aires legislators. The voting, which is not mandatory, represents a key episode in the neighborhood where the nation's president, Javier Milei, has voted in the last two elections.

In 2021 and 2023, Milei cast his vote at the Medrano campus of the National Technological University (UTN), located in the Abasto area, where he had his residence until his arrival at the Casa Rosada.

If he hasn't changed his residence, the president could participate in the election of his candidate, Manuel Adorni, and in the consultation for the official name of Commune 5.

The nomination process for Commune 5 is not new. In 2018, a neighborhood consultation resulted in the name  "Almagro-Boedo", with an overwhelming 80% of the votes.

However, the current Communal Board decided to reopen the debate, proposing two options in a digital vote held in December of last year: reaffirm "Almagro-Boedo" or choose "Tierra del Tango", a name with cultural reminiscences but which sparked resistance among the residents.

The Communal Consultative Council 5 expressed its total rejection of this attempt to change the popular decision made in 2018. In a statement, they accused certain sectors of the Board of delegitimizing the previous democratic process and emphasized that the original consultation had the  active participation of residents, cultural organizations, and historical studies of the area. Despite these tensions, the digital vote reaffirmed what was decided in 2018: the residents chose "Almagro-Boedo" again.

The popular consultation on May 18 will have a clear design: voters of Commune 5 will be able to respond if they agree that the jurisdiction should be called "Almagro-Boedo." The options available on the  single electronic ballot will be:  "Yes," "No," and "I do not participate in the consultation."

The result, although not immediately binding, must be submitted to the Buenos Aires Legislature through a bill for formal consideration. This is stipulated by the agreement  No. 4 of the Electoral Tribunal of the City of Buenos Aires, signed by its president, Roberto Carlos Requejo, and judges Romina Tesone and Rodolfo Ariza Clerici.

Meanwhile, as the popular consultation draws local attention, the real political focus will be on the Buenos Aires electoral contest, where  La Libertad Avanza,  the PRO, and Kirchnerism will measure forces. The neighborhood where Milei built his path to power will once again be the protagonist of a key day for Argentine democracy.