Buenos Aires Herald 
The stroke of midnight on October 20 confirmed a first for Peronism: two candidates will vie for the leadership of the Justicialista Party in its November 17 elections.
The deadline for candidates to throw their hat in the ring passed, confirming that former President and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and La Rioja Governor Ricardo Quintela will face off for party chair. The Peronist opposition has been beset by infighting and a leadership vacuum since they lost the November 2023 presidential elections to La Libertad Avanza’s Javier Milei.
Quintela showed interest in leading the party months ago and has been touring the country shoring up federal support for his bid, calling for the provinces beyond Buenos Aires to be included in the party’s debates. The name of Quintela’s ticket is Federalismo y Justicia (Federalism and Justice).
Meanwhile, Kirchner published a letter 10 days prior to the deadline revealing that she would run. Politicians and her supporters had been calling vocally for her to be a candidate in what’s often referred to as “clamor operation” in Argentina. The former president’s ticket is called Primero La Patria (The Homeland First) and the driving force behind her candidacy is a call for a united front.
Both Kirchner and Quintela have called for a deep political reckoning and emphasized the need for change and unity. Observers have said that two rival candidates running is a sign that senior party figures have been unable to reach an agreement among themselves, and are handing the choice over to their supporters.
Peronism’s internal disputes revolve around tensions between “a more metropolitan Peronism associated with La Cámpora [Peronist youth group] and the progressive left, and a more traditional, provincial Peronism of the governors of North Western Argentina and North Eastern Argentina, who feel that the progressive agenda has reduced their social bases,” said political analyst Lara Goyburu.
She added that the party has found itself facing a leadership vacuum, with a lack of new, younger leaders to bring about change. This has created an opportunity for lesser-known figures such as Quintela.
The Justicialist Party is not the only Peronist party in Argentina, but is the largest. Former President Alberto Fernández stepped down as head of the party in August, hours after being formally indicted for allegedly beating and threatening his ex-partner Fabiola Yañez.
Axel Kicillof, governor of Buenos Aires province and a Peronist figurehead viewed as a possible presidential hopeful, has not explicitly endorsed either candidate. He has been the target of pro-Kirchner factions and the former president indirectly referred to him as Pontius Pilate earlier this week.
He called for party unity in a long post on X in the hours running up to the deadline, warning against what he described as a worn-out logic of “traitors or submissives.”
“Since Alberto stepped aside, I have repeated in public and in private that I’m not interested in getting into the PJ’s internal disputes, neither directly nor indirectly,” Kicillof said. “I’m concerned about the right beginning to take advantage of our infighting. Hours from the deadline, I repeat: unity, respectful unity, Peronist unity!”
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