A year from the presidential vote, Argentina's parties begin to define alliances

With just over a year remaining until Argentina's presidential elections in October 2027, the ruling party and the main opposition are beginning to shape their alliances. La Libertad Avanza, the party led by President Javier Milei, is engaging in talks with former President Mauricio Macri's PRO, while various Peronist factions have agreed to a truce aimed at thwarting the electoral reform the government is pushing forward.

Macri and presidency general secretary Karina Milei exchanged a thirty-minute phone conversation, their first since more than nine months. On Thursday, representatives from both parties met for two hours at Casa Rosada: PRO's Cristian Ritondo and Fernando de Andreis, alongside government officials Diego Santilli and lawmakers Martín and Eduardo Menem.

The result was the establishment of a joint political forum that will convene every two weeks, and a joint statement expressing their shared conviction that Argentina should not "fall back into the hands of populism." No national electoral alliance has been formed yet. Macri has announced that PRO will run its own candidate in 2027, already promoting former economy minister Hernán Lacunza.

The strongest convergence is currently seen in Buenos Aires province. Karina Milei plays a significant role in crafting electoral lists, which bolsters her involvement in the negotiations. The ruling party is also discussing electoral lists with governors in approximately ten provinces. La Libertad Avanza secured the presidency in 2023 without any provincial governors, an unprecedented occurrence in Argentine history.

The primary battleground in 2027 will be Buenos Aires province, the most populous region, governed by the Peronist Axel Kicillof. La Libertad Avanza inaugurated its provincial campaign headquarters on Thursday, and provincial figure Sebastián Pareja pointed to Santilli as the likely candidate to oppose Kicillof. On the opposition front, Kicillof, lawmaker Máximo Kirchner, and former presidential contender Sergio Massa met for three hours on Wednesday.

They agreed to support the open, simultaneous, and compulsory primaries known as PASO, which the government wants to abolish along with changes to party financing. This mechanism enables all parties to finalize their candidates on the same voting day; without it, Peronism would lose the tool it employs to resolve internal divisions, making opposition alliance-building more challenging.

Meeting participants cautioned, as reported by newspaper Página 12, that those opposing the removal of PASO would bear responsibility for facilitating Milei's continuity. This warning was directed towards Peronist governors from northern provinces who typically align with the government in Congress. According to the most recent Opinaia survey, 55% of Argentines would vote for Milei or are considering doing so, a seventeen-point lead over those who would favor a Kirchnerist candidate.