A call for unity and forgiveness is emerging from within Argentina’s Peronist movement as it navigates internal strife and prepares for future elections. The push for reconciliation comes as the political force seeks to regain its footing amid ongoing challenges.
“Peronism needs to forgive itself,” said Miguel Ángel Pichetto, a national deputy and member of Provincias Unidas, a coalition including the Cordoba Peronists and a sector of the Radical Civic Union. “We need to glance to the past and reflect that any Peronist government is much better than the one governing us Argentinians and leading us to misery. Let’s stop talking about the past, about the mistakes we’ve made, and start looking at the present and the future, and the need to build a proposal together with the national center to win the elections.”
Pichetto, a veteran politician who previously served as a key figure in the Senate and ran for president alongside Mauricio Macri, has recently re-engaged with the base of the Justicialist Party, aligning himself with Guillermo Moreno. The two are working to stimulate discussion within Peronism, which is currently embroiled in a dispute in Buenos Aires province and populated by leaders seeking a new project but hesitant to actively pursue it.
Pichetto and Moreno are collaborating to promote the development of a new Justicialist proposal. While both harbor their own ambitions for 2027, their joint appearances aim to invigorate the debate, urging a broader political framework to counter the current administration. They believe this requires a willingness to move past past grievances. “Less accusations of betrayal and more embraces of forgiveness,” Moreno said, drawing a parallel to the 2019 alliance between Cristina Kirchner and Sergio Massa that led to the creation of the Frente de Todos.
On Tuesday, Pichetto visited Cristina Kirchner. The meeting was described as warm, with both figures beginning to address past disagreements. They hadn’t met in a long time. Pichetto served as the Peronist bloc leader in the Senate during Kirchner’s first two terms, remaining loyal despite differing views and the hierarchical nature of the Peronist movement.
“Now comes the easier part, which is choosing a candidate,” Moreno stated at a recent rally in downtown Buenos Aires. “All we need is to agree on a man or woman who is capable of understanding that this is a collective project, that has doctrine, that has a government plan. We have to do it all together.” Moreno asserted that the focus of the effort should be “production and work,” and emphasized inclusivity.
Moreno linked Pichetto to the task of “returning to Peronist roots,” a phrase he frequently uses in his speeches. Both maintain a distance from the efforts of Axel Kicillof, the Buenos Aires Province governor who is currently the leading pre-candidate for the Peronist nomination. Kicillof intends to step aside from the Buenos Aires internal race, but constant tensions with the Kirchner faction are hindering his efforts.
On Friday, Kicillof lost one of many battles with La Cámpora, the Kirchner faction. The group secured the first vice presidency of the Buenos Aires Senate, installing Intendente Mario Ishii, currently on leave from his mayoral position, into the role. Kicillof’s camp had been unwilling to negotiate the position, but ultimately conceded. “Cristina gave the line of succession to Macri and Milei when they were presidents. And now La Cámpora has taken it away from Axel,” a Kicillof aide complained. The differences run deep, on every level.
Kicillof is continuing to build support for a presidential run. On Saturday, a group of organizations within the Movimiento Derecho al Futuro (Right to the Future Movement) will hold a rally in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, aiming to centralize and consolidate support for the governor in the city.
Augusto Costa, Buenos Aires Province’s Minister of Production and a close confidant of Kicillof, is coordinating the effort. Costa created a group called Kilómetro 0, which, along with Primero la Patria, led by “Cuervo” Larroque, are working to build Kicillof’s base in the capital.
The plan is for Kicillof to officially launch his presidential bid in Buenos Aires. This accumulation of groups has a parallel and institutional plan. They want to gain ground within the Buenos Aires Peronist Party to compete in the upcoming elections. “We must strengthen the bases of whoever will be the next president of Argentina,” said a member of the territorial scheme in the capital. The Axel faction is determined to move forward with greater determination in 2026.
Peronism is in motion. There are some rapprochements, a few cracks, marked divisions, and several leaders trying to manage an internal debate that could lead to a new electoral proposal. Sums and subtractions. Almost all the time. Calculations are being made as the Peronist movement seeks to reconnect with the majority of voters, a relationship that has seen several separations in the last decade.
