Cristina Fernández de Kirchner returns to Argentine politics

October 8, 2024

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK), former president and vice president of Argentina, hinted yesterday at an official return to politics as head of the Partido Justicialista (PJ), the most important party within the Peronist opposition coalition, reports the Buenos Aires Times. Despite not outright confirming her candidacy for next year’s midterm elections - or the 2027 presidential elections - CFK wrote in an open letter that she was “ready to accept the challenge of debating in unity,” and criticized policies implemented by current president Javier Milei, unofficially announcing her intent to run (Página 12).   

Despite being one of the most well-known and polarizing figures in Argentine politics, CFK’s “political influence has undeniably waned over the last decade,” writes Marcelo García in the Buenos Aires Times. She re-takes the helm of the PJ after a period of uncertainty and lack of solid leadership, and amid the resignation of former president Alberto Fernández following accusations of domestic violence from his former partner. 

The governor of La Rioja province, Ricardo Quintela, had previously announced his intention to run for the PJ’s presidency, according to MercoPress. Following CFK’s announcement, Quintela said he would welcome the opportunity to join forces with her, in the event that he wins the party’s internal elections. As the Buenos Aires Herald notes, CFK received the immediate support of various Kirchnerist leaders. Some main figures of the broader Peronist movement did not immediately announce they would back CFK, though, implying some lingering support of Quintela and a potential internal battle for the position. 

More Argentina

• Vice President Victoria Villarruel met with the Speaker of the Senate of Spain on Monday, in her first international trip, according to MercoPress. Pedro Rollán, of the opposition Popular Party (PP), expressed support for President Milei’s decision to withdraw Argentina’s ambassador from Spain following a diplomatic tiff with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. 

• The Pata Pila organization offers support, including nutritional advice and community health services, to monitor and help underweight children and expecting mothers in the northern province of Salta, notes El País. 

• Jorge D’Onofrio, transportation minister in the province of Buenos Aires, sparked controversy during an interview when he suggested the province could seek to become independent from the rest of the country, reports BBC. His statements were made in the context of an ongoing struggle between the Peronist-led provincial government and the libertarian president Javier Milei, especially over differences regarding transport policies. 

• As Infobae notes, D’Onofrio proclaimed that the province of Buenos Aires, which is home to almost 40% of Argentina’s population, would have “the largest GDP in all Latin America.”

Colombia

• Colombia recorded 4 massacres last weekend, including 3 in the department of Santander, reports El País, noting that some locals are reporting the emergence of a new armed group in the area: “The new ones use the name of a guerrilla group that demobilized more than 30 years ago, the Popular Liberation Army or EPL. Although dissidents from the EPL emerged after the demobilization three decades ago, there had been no trace of them since 2015.” 

• “Today, the Gulf Clan is the largest armed group in the country… Since 2018, the number of its members has increased by 95%. It went from having influence in 179 municipalities in 10 departments to being in 238 municipalities in 16 departments,” explains Fundación Ideas para la Paz, highlighting the growing role and consolidation of the armed group’s presence in the country. 

Bolivia

• “Wildfires in Bolivia have burned through more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) this year, mostly in the country's tropical east, smashing records for its worst-ever fire season and scorching an area the size of Iceland or Cuba,” reports Reuters.

Cuba

• “In recent days, complaints from journalists, contributors, content creators, and activists have begun to appear on social media, in what is being described as another major purge against the independent media by the Cuban government,” per El País.

Honduras

• Honduran authorities arrested the alleged murderer of Juan Lopez, an environmental activist who campaigned against open-pit iron ore mining. (AFP)

Ecuador

• El País highlights blackouts, including of industry, in Ecuador amid the country’s dry season-induced energy crisis. A 10-hour blackout over the weekend sparked criticism from business sectors. 

Guatemala

• Despite the election of reformist president Bernardo Arévalo, Guatemala continues to face challenges due to the prevalence of corrupt actors, writes James Bosworth at WPR: “Ten months into his term, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has faced 13 impeachment requests and six attempts to strip his immunity from prosecution. His congressional coalition has crumbled, holding back his economic agenda that includes spending on infrastructure and social welfare programs. Last week, that same obstructionist Congress selected 13 new justices to a five-year term on the Supreme Court, choosing from a list of relatively unknown candidates that observers of the process believe have ties to corrupt economic and political sectors that work against Arevalo’s government.”

Regional Relations

• Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with US president Joe Biden on the phone about economic and trade cooperation, the first such call since Sheinbaum’s inauguration last week. (Reuters)

• Despite Argentine President Javier Milei’s ideological opposition to China, his country’s dire need for investment - and maintaining an open currency swap line with Beijing - has caused a shift in Milei’s rhetoric, reports the Buenos Aires Times. Milei recently called Argentina’s relationship with China “pragmatic,” and said he would visit the Asian country for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in early 2025.  

Mexico

• Sheinbaum is launching a 7 billion peso plan to conduct a census of health care needs of the about 13.6 million elderly people and people with disabilities who currently receive a pension from the federal government. Around 21,500 nurses and doctors will be hired under the plan, per El País.

• The 2019 capture of Mexican drug lord El Chapo has since provoked various double-crosses and betrayals from rival factions within the Sinaloa Cartel, resulting in long periods of excessive violence, frightening locals and stifling the state’s economy, reports the New York Times. Despite assurances to the contrary, the local government has not yet been able to clamp down on the violence or control the cartel’s activities.  

Haiti

• Haiti’s transitional presidential council, marred by serious corruption allegations against three of its members, experienced a change in leadership as Leslie Voltaire was sworn in on Monday, replacing Edgard Leblanc Fils as part of the pre-established rotating presidency, reports AP News. According to the Miami Herald, Leblanc Fils boycotted the ceremony in protest against the continued presence of the three members accused of corruption in a bank bribery scandal. 

Regional

• “From the United States to the Dominican Republic to the Bahamas, the collective scapegoating and mass deportation of Haitians for political gain lays bare a particular kind of anti-Blackness,” says NACLA.

• “There has been an alarming increase in cyber crime in Latin America in recent years, as technology has advanced. From data theft to digital fraud, cyber crime is a threat that knows no borders,” says InSight Crime.