Local elections: Peronism wins in Tucumán, Poggi flips San Luis

Tucumán and San Luis elected governors, Mendoza held primaries and Corrientes voted for local positions on Sunday

Despite the Supreme Court’s intervention and the postponement of the vote, Peronist Osvaldo Jaldo won by a landslide in Tucumán’s gubernatorial elections on Sunday. In San Luis province, Claudio Poggi of opposition-aligned Cambia San Luis triumphed over his Justicialist rivals, upending four decades of Peronist rule.

Mendoza held primaries and Corrientes held local elections but did not choose a governor.

Tucumán

In Tucumán, Jaldo was beating his rival, Roberto Antonio Sánchez, of opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio (JxC), by 56% to 34% at the time of writing. With 89% of the vote counted, Jaldo’s victory is now certain.

“Thank you Tucumán!” Jaldo posted on social media Monday morning in celebration of his victory. “The people have renewed their trust and support for our political space, firmly accompanying us because they know our experience, capability and trajectory.”

National politicians including Interior Minister Wado de Pedro and Economy Minister Sergio Massa celebrated Peronism’s Tucumán triumph in social media messages. 

The province’s elections were originally slated for May 14, but the Supreme Court suspended them just five days before they were scheduled to take place after members of JxC filed a complaint that Juan Manzur, who was running for re-election as vice governor, was not eligible to stand for another term because of limits the local and national constitutions place on re-election.

The elections were rescheduled for this Sunday after Manzur stepped down and his bloc fielded provincial Interior Minister Miguel Acevedo instead.

Milei’s candidate, Ricardo Bussi of Fuerza Republicana, came a distant third with just under 4% of the vote.

With a population of 1.7 million, Tucumán is Argentina’s fifth largest province.

San Luis

In San Luis, Claudio Poggi of Cambia San Luis was winning by 54% to Unión por San Luis’s 44% with 77% counted. It will be his second term as governor, after a stint from 2011 to 2015. However, he has changed political parties: while he stood with the Justicialist Party during his previous term, he broke with Peronism in 2016 and is now allied with Juntos por el Cambio.

“THANK YOU! From today on, we will start to plan the future of San Luis in freedom, together and united,” he posted Monday morning, celebrating his victory. 

Since Argentina’s return to democracy in 1983, the province has mostly been governed by the Peronist Rodríguez Saá family. Adolfo Rodríguez Saá served as governor from December 1983 until December 2001, when he briefly served as president amid the 2001 economic crisis. His brother, Alberto Rodríguez Saá, held the provincial top job between 2003 and 2011 and again from 2015 until present. Neither sibling was a candidate in these elections.

Mendoza

In Mendoza province’s gubernatorial primaries, Senator Alfredo Cornejo of Frente Cambia Mendoza, aligned with JxC, was the clear victor. His front secured around 43% of the province’s total vote at the time of writing, and he beat internal rival Luis Petri by a wide margin. 

“Thank you to the citizens for continuing to support the leadership of Frente Cambia Mendoza,” Cornejo said in response to the results, tagging JxC presidential hopeful Patricia Bullrich.

Peronism, represented by the Elegí Mendoza front, came in third with 16% of the vote.

Corrientes

While Corrientes was not electing a governor, incumbent Encuentro por Corrientes, aligned with JxC, won an ample victory over the Frente de Todos, with 66% to 27%. 

On the ballot were five provincial senator seats, 15 provincial deputies, and municipal councilors in 64 districts.

JxC presidential candidate Horacio Rodríguez Larreta traveled to Corrientes to meet with Governor Eduardo Valdez and celebrate the victory of his political front in the province. 

“We are already together and we are going to ratify unity. The way to beat Kirchnerism and make them leave for good is to be together. With Gustavo [ Valdez ] we share obsession and passion for work”, Larreta told journalists after the meeting. 

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