Buenos Aires Times columnist on alternatives to polarisation in Argentina
A Buenos Aires Times columnist believes that, with 14 months remaining before Argentina’s elections, political and economic debate is excessively focused on the confrontation between President Javier Milei and Kirchnerism. In his view, fears of a sharp policy shift after the vote are holding back private economic initiatives.
The author is convinced that, to secure investor confidence, the country needs a broader choice of political forces that would support a market economy and institutional continuity regardless of the election result. Among possible centre-right contenders, he mentions former Economy Minister Hernán Lacunza. At the same time, the possible nomination of Lacunza is more often seen, in the columnist’s assessment, as a tool for negotiations over support for the re-election of Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri rather than as a full-fledged presidential campaign.
Infrastructure and the centre-right choice
The columnist also draws attention to neglected infrastructure and an expected exceptionally wet spring, which could intensify farmers’ discontent. He writes that the government, according to a claim cited in the column, directed three-quarters of fuel tax revenue intended for road maintenance towards sustaining the fiscal surplus. Against this backdrop, the author considers the emergence of a conservative candidate who would pay greater attention to infrastructure to be possible.
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Left-wing forces and dissatisfied voters
In the author’s view, the strengthening of the far left could weaken Kirchnerism’s monopoly on the protest electorate. He mentions Frente de Izquierda lawmaker Myriam Bregman, whose approval rating in some polls, according to the column, reached 44%. The columnist notes that this figure is close to the rating of Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, whom he calls the leading Peronist contender.
The author also writes that more than 60% of citizens are dissatisfied with the current course, but at least half of them equally do not want a return of Kirchnerism. Some of these voters, in his assessment, may not support a new candidate but fail to turn out to vote: turnout in last year’s midterm elections fell below 70% for the first time in more than four decades of democracy. The columnist stresses the need to make a change of power in Argentina not a threat but a guarantee of institutional continuity.
