“Today is my last inaugural session,” said Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof in a three-hour speech opening the province’s legislative sessions. “Or, in any case, the last one of this first stage.”

“Time, and especially the people of our province, will decide on that.”

With a clear focus on the 2023 elections, Kicillof hinted at the possibility of running for reelection throughout the speech, saying that he has set a goal to  “write a new chapter” in the history of peronism.

Tying provincial and national politics, Kicillof described the Supreme Court sentence that favored the City of Buenos Aires by restoring a portion of its federal tax share as “shameful,” saying that the province of Buenos Aire was “undoubtedly missing the resources from what it produces and contributes” to the system. 

Federal tax shares, known in Spanish as coparticipación, are public funds distributed between the provinces and drawn from federal taxes, including income tax, property tax and value-added tax. Each province receives a set percentage of the total. The ruling sparked a fierce political battle between the national government, the City of Buenos Aires and the Supreme Court.

Cristina and the 2023 elections

Echoing the agreement reached by a governing coalition working group in February, Kicillof condemned the prospective lifetime ban on holding office on Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In December 2022 she received a six-year jail term and a lifetime ban from public office for the “Vialidad” case, accused of fraudulently awarding public works contracts during her terms as president.

 Her legal team is set to appeal the ruling and she is still legally allowed to run for office until those appeals have been exhausted. Following the ruling,  she announced that she would not run for president in 2023. 

Despite that public decision, feverish speculation has remained regarding whether or not she will run.

“Peronism has a long history of being the victim of persecutions. We see that today with the political ban that weighs on Cristina,” Kicillof said, alluding to the 1955-1973 ban on the Peronist party imposed by one of Argentina’s military dictatorships. “This fact entails a worrying and unacceptable deterioration of democracy.”

Kicillof also talked about the assassination attempt against her on September 1, 2022.  

“It was a situation of unprecedented gravity, condemned by all society and leadership except a few unforgivable exceptions. It’s something that should hurt any of us who love democracy.” 

“We are in an electoral year and society will have to decide what path to follow. The state and the government aren’t there to defend privileges,” said Kicillof. 

Kicillof started his political career under CFK’s second presidency, becoming Economy Minister in 2013. He was later elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2015 as a representative for the City of Buenos Aires and became governor of Buenos Aires province in 2019. 

“For us, this year’s dilemma will be to choose between the right and our rights.”

Several members of the opposition watched the speech on television from their offices, claiming that they were denied a place in the chamber, although photos of their empty seats were later circulated.

After he finished his speech, Peronist legislators and members of the audience chanted: “Reelection for Axel!”