Chubut province is holding general elections to replace Peronist Governor Mariano Arcioni. There are multiple Peronist coalitions in the province and one of the gubernatorial frontrunners has actively distanced himself from Arcioni.

The two main contenders to replace Arcioni are Comodoro Rivadavia Mayor Juan Pablo Luque, from the Peronist provincial coalition Arriba Chubut (part of the ruling coalition Unión por la Patria), and National Senator Ignacio Torres from the opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio (JxC).

Juan Pablo Luque expects to continue the Peronist rule in the provincial government. However, during his campaign, he has distanced himself from incumbent governor Arcioni and even said he is not a true Peronist.

“It’s not true that the province has been under a Peronist government for the past 20 years, because the last six years are not Peronism. Education in Chubut is suffering its worst catastrophe right now,” Luque said after voting on Sunday morning. 

Arcioni became governor in 2017 after his predecessor, Mario Das Neves, died. He was later elected in 2019.

“I don’t feel part of the ruling coalition,” Luque said during the candidate debate last week, referring to Arcioni’s Chubut Somos Todos. “I have absolutely nothing to do with Arcioni, I see some people want to link me to him all the time.”

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Luque’s candidate for vice governor, Ricardo Sastre, is currently in that position in Arcioni’s government.

Arcioni’s administration has been embattled by a protracted conflict with teacher unions, with consistent strikes since 2019 calling for increased wages, better working conditions and protesting against budget cuts. Teachers have reported suffering harsh police repression and irregular arrests during their protests.

Since there are no primaries in Chubut, the governor will be elected directly in general elections. Like Chubut, several provinces choose to hold their provincial elections on a separate date from the national elections. These are the last provincial elections before the national PASO primaries in August 13. 

The elections are taking place normally despite strong winds and heavy rain had put the elections on hold. On Saturday, the 130 km/h winds caused roofs to fly off and power outages in Comodoro Rivadavia, the biggest city in the province.

—with information from Télam