Martina Jaureguy 
Opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio (JxC) met far-right economist Javier Mileiās victory in Argentinaās presidential elections with mixed reactions. While most hardline members celebrated, others announced they would be leaving the coalition and turning into Mileiās opposition starting December 10, when the president-elect takes office.
Milei met with former President Mauricio Macri ā co-founder of JxC ā and former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich on Sunday night at the Libertador Hotel after his victory was announced. Macri and Bullrich are both leaders of the PRO party, one of the three main parties that make up JxC. They had announced they would be personally supporting Milei after Bullrich came third in Octoberās general elections, where she ran for president against Milei. However, neither JxC nor PRO have become official members of Mileiās coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA), at least for now.
The Herald reached out to Bullrich’s press team to ask about the meeting. Although the contents of their late-night conversation were not revealed, Macri congratulated Milei in a lengthy X (formerly Twitter) post.
āMost Argentines have overwhelmingly expressed themselves choosing change and rejecting continuity,ā Macri said, adding that Milei āknew how to listen to the voice of the young and the fatigue of millions of disadvantaged and impoverished people.ā
āThe responsibility over the economic disaster created by the current government, especially by [Sergio] Massaās administration [as Economy Minister] cannot be exonerated so easily when they hand over a broken country,ā Macri said. He added that Milei will need āsupport, trust and patienceā and that a āspectacular futureā is ahead of Argentina.
Bullrich āwholeheartedlyā congratulated Milei on an X post for his āoverwhelming and historical victoryā and said that the āgreat changeā JxC has been working on for years won on Sundayās elections.
Luis Petri, who ran as Bullrichās vice presidential candidate in the primaries and general elections, said that āhope, change and freedom won with Mileiās victory.ā Petri is a member of the UniĆ³n CĆvica Radical (UCR), the oldest existing party in Argentina and one of the main parties in JxC, along with CoaliciĆ³n CĆvica. Petri is the only prominent UCR member who publicly supports Milei.
UCR president and Jujuy Governor Gerardo Morales had harshly criticized Macri, Bullrich and Petri after they announced they would be backing him in October, and confirmed the UCRās virtual separation from JxC later last month, saying the party wonāt answer to anyone anymore. Now, he accepted the results and wished Milei success in his administration.
Fellow UCR member and national senator MartĆn Lousteau, who spoke against Macri and Bullrich alongside Morales in October, said on Sunday night on X that UCR members āwill be a responsible opposition in Congress,ā confirming that the UCR ā or at least his party, EvoluciĆ³n Radical ā will not be supporting LLA.
Buenos Aires City Mayor and PRO member Horacio RodrĆguez Larreta ā who had rejected Macri and Bullrichās unilateral decision to support Milei and said that voting for him would be like jumping into the abyss ā congratulated Milei in an X post, saying that LLA will have the āhuge responsibilityā of taking Argentines out of the current economic crisis.
āFrom my place, I will keep working to build a country where we can all live better,ā said Larreta, whose term as mayor will end on December 10.
CoaliciĆ³n CĆvica leader Elisa CarriĆ³ was most condemning of JxC, criticizing Macri and Bullrich particularly. She confirmed the partyās exit from JxC ā she had described the opposition bloc as ābrokenā after Bullrich publicly backed Milei. In a voice note sent to the press on Sunday night, CarriĆ³ said CoaliciĆ³n CĆvica is getting back its āfull autonomy.ā
āSeeing that the Juntos por el Cambio coalition has been broken against the CoaliciĆ³n CĆvicaās will, Elisa CarriĆ³ and the CoaliciĆ³n CĆvica take back their full autonomy and will fight for their foundational principles, the moral contract, the republican contract, and the contract for [Argentinaās] economic development.ā
CarriĆ³ added that neither she nor her party will negotiate with Milei and his allies as their role is to ārebuild the republic when it is threatened.ā
You may also be interested in: āMileinomicsā: Javier Mileiās economic plan for Argentina
