May 7, 2023

The Frente de Todos ecosystem will look closely at today’s elections in La Rioja, in which Governor Ricardo Quintela will seek to renew his mandate as head of the province. The ruling party pays special attention to the province of Cuyo not so much because of its electoral weight but because it would be the first victory of the FdT brand so far this year. La Rioja has barely more than 300,000 voters. Quintela appears as a favorite.

Within the national ruling party there are few consensuses: one of them is that the national fight should not meddle in the provincial elections, even if that means that both Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner do not visit territories in the previous one. For this reason, the Casa Rosada has not actively participated, except for some ministers such as Eduardo “Wado” De Pedro, or Gabriel Katopodis who have come down to the territory with announcements in recent days.

Tomorrow Alberto will set foot on La Rioja soil. He will inaugurate an Early Childhood Center. Of course, she will take the opportunity to meet with Quintela in the governor’s office and have a winning postcard in the midst of the fierce internal affairs and a complicated economy.

With Peronism as the favorite, the novelty is presented by Martín Menem, Javier Milei’s candidate, who might be second, displacing Together for Change. Milei was last weekend in the capital and in Chilecito, where he drew crowds. On a low note, the local ruling party supported Menem’s candidacy to file down the Juntos por el Cambio candidate.

In the environment of the libertarian candidate they were cautious before PROFILE and did not give predictions although they clarified that they hope to make “the best possible choice.” In recent days Milei distanced himself from the provincial armed forces.

The JxC candidate is Felipe Álvarez, who plays with a strong backing from Horacio Rodríguez Larreta. Last Thursday the mayor was in the province in the only closing ceremony that took place. The libertarians were in charge of circulating in recent days the past “camper” of the deputy. From Álvarez’s environment, they explained to this medium that the man from La Rioja broke with local Peronism in 2017, when they did not allow him to take office as a provincial legislator.

In JvC they emphasize that it is the first time that the UCR and the PRO come together in a unified and seamless assembly. Julio Martínez and Inés Brizuela Doria, both leaders of the UCR, support Álvarez.

In recent days there have been strikes by health workers and teachers, which erodes the Peronism that has governed since 1983.