Joaquín Rodríguez Freire Argentine politics is poised to enter a new phase as the October midterms inch closer. The legislative elections will not only be the first major exam for President Javier Milei but also a litmus test for provincial leaders who will put the approval of their administrations on the line.
The current situation means several districts will go all in, as a slew of former governors gear up to run for various posts.
These provincial leaders understand that Milei is the great rival and that the emergence of La Libertad Avanza (LLA) as a political force on their turf is a major challenge, especially for those who are open to cooperation with the national government. At the same time, these leaders need to increase their legislative representation in order to have a say in the national conversation.
Strong names are emerging for the midterms, including several former provincial leaders. Oscar Herrera Ahuad (Misiones) and Juan Manuel Urtubey (Salta) have already confirmed they will run. Meanwhile, Gerardo Morales (Jujuy), Gerardo Zamora (Santiago del Estero), María Eugenia Vidal (Buenos Aires), and even Jorge Capitanich (Chaco) could also appear on the ballots. Gustavo Valdés from Corrientes will compete for a local seat.
Seeing former governors in Congress is nothing new. Currently, there are several of them in the Senate: Alicia Kirchner (Santa Cruz), Sergio Uñac (San Juan), Juan Carlos Romero (Salta), Lucía Corpacci (Catamarca), Juan Manzur (Tucumán), Claudia Ledesma Abdala de Zamora (Santiago del Estero), and Rodolfo Suarez (Mendoza).
There are also some in the Lower House, like Sergio Casas (La Rioja), Gustavo Bordet (Entre Ríos), and Julio Cobos (Mendoza), in addition to the aforementioned Vidal.
Urtubey and Herrera Ahuad are already confirmed
One former provincial leader who confirmed he would be running this week was ex-Salta Governor Juan Manuel Urtubey. After resuming talks with Cristina Kirchner, he secured the former president’s approval to run for one of the three Senate seats the province will renew.
Current Governor Gustavo Sáenz will not field candidates of his own but will be watching closely to see what happens. Sáenz has no representatives in the upper house, as the province representatives are Juan Carlos Romero (Federal Change) and Peronists Nora del Valle Jiménez and Sergio Leavy.
Urtubey announced his candidacy on Thursday with a strong anti-Milei message, saying that “cutting back on the state is cutting back on the country with Argentines inside.” He also sent a message of support to Kirchner.
“[Milei] is also cutting back on democracy with proscriptions against those who want to stop him. The chainsaw does not build. The chainsaw destroys. We must stop this!”
Sáenz, who was an ally of Peronism until 2023, has become one of the leaders closest to the Casa Rosada. In the local elections in June, his party won a landslide victory in the province but lost the senate seats in the capital to LLA.
In Misiones, Oscar Herrera Ahuad will head the list for national deputies. The former governor was anointed by Carlos Rovira, another ex-governor who still wields strong influence, to go at the top of the Frente Renovador de la Concordia (FRC) ballot to try and halt the libertarian wave.
The list of those who are on the fence
Current Santiago Governor Gerardo Zamora is set to leave office this year and is rumored to be mulling a run for a Senate seat. His wife, Claudia Ledesma Abdala de Zamora — who was governor between 2013 and 2017 and is currently in the Senate — could look to run for her husband’s seat again, in what would essentially be a swap between the two.
Former Jujuy Governor Gerardo Morales has also made a public reappearance in the past few weeks, fueling speculation that he could also compete. According to Herald sister publication Ámbito, he met with several mayors and participated in a political event. Jujuy is set to renew three deputy seats in the October midterms, with only one of them currently in the hands of the UCR.
In Buenos Aires City, former BA province Governor María Eugenia Vidal could be a possible PRO candidate for the Senate. Her current term as deputy will end in December, and her advisors do not rule out any scenario.
“She could run for a seat in the Senate or lead the deputy ballot. It’s all on the table and depends on what she wants to do,” sources from her camp said. Buenos Aires City will renew its three Senate seats: Martín Lousteau (UCR), Mariano Recalde (Peronism), and Guadalupe Tagliaferri (close to former Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta). None of them are allied to current Mayor Jorge Macri, who aspires to place at least somebody close to him in Congress.
In Chaco, former Governor Jorge Capitanich was recently elected to the local legislature. Peronism, however, sees him as a possible candidate at the national level as a way to challenge the alliance between Governor Leandro Zdero and LLA. The goal is to try and hold on to one of the two seats that will be up for grabs.
In Corrientes, meanwhile, Governor Gustavo Valdés will end his term this year. But he is not set to leave politics just yet, as he will lead the ballot for local legislator in a bid to fend off the growth of LLA and Peronism in the province.
