Sergio Massa He walks quickly through the lobby of the Saint Regis Hotel, and jokes with his official translator that he is very young, formal and does not know the inmates of the Frente de Todos. The Minister of Economy taught him to say “Long live Perón!” already bitching in porteño. The translator has a hard time saying shit, although Massa helps him with pronunciation and tone of voice. The minister appeared relaxed in public, but his rictus froze -over and over again- when asked in the entourage what did you think about the current political strategy of Alberto Fernández, the absence of an electoral route in the Frente de Todos and the future of the government after the PASO.
The head of the Palacio de Hacienda chatted little with the President. He alleged the time difference and communication difficulties caused by the communist regime that restricts freedoms and forces Get down an application to break the siege set up by Xi Jinping to preserve his information control in China.
During the trip, Massa exchanged views with Máximo Kirchner, Juan Manuel Olmos and Cecilia Moreau, who act with a political script that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner writes with the passing of the hours. It is a modern version of Casablanca: the text is updated before surprising situations that can change the fate of the protagonists and the final scene of a story that will leave winners and losers.
Máximo Kirchner complied with all the official agenda and preserved his low profile and anonymity. He only agreed to take a selfie with a lady who passed him at the entrance of the Westin hotel in Shanghai. He had just arrived from Buenos Aires and was still carrying his travel backpack.
The leader of La Cámpora appeared one night at a gathering that was spontaneously set up in a gigantic patio with a water fountain that Massa had turned off because he did not listen to his interlocutor when they talked about Alberto Fernández. And then there was an informal reception at the embassy that began with typical dishes and ended with an impromptu barbecue that lasted a long time.
Máximo Kirchner has a formed opinion of the President, and in China he repeated his litany.
Olmos is Deputy Chief of Staff, and at the time was acting on behalf of Alberto Fernández. He now articulates an electoral strategy that reflects Massa’s view regarding the eventual future of the Government and the Frente de Todos. Olmos exhausted his cell phone speaking in the lobbies of the Westin and Saint Regis hotels, and considers that it is a strategic error to mount a STEP with innumerable candidates that would atomize the final result.
Massa argues before Máximo Kirchner, Olmo and Cecilia Moreau that Alberto Fernández “shoots his foot” when he encourages the candidacies of Daniel Scioli and Victoria Tolosa Paz and explains that a defeat in the PASO would place the government in front of a dystopian desert. “We need order, a system and three strong ideas. With that we are competitive ”, completes the Minister of Economy.
The President has a different view of the political board of Argentina, and these differences cause friction with Massa that moves the government before a scenario with a power vacuum. Alberto Fernández wants to go to the PASO with several candidates and swears that Scioli can win the internal elections of the Frente de Todos. On the other side, for now, is Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, who reports non-stop to CFK’s office in the Senate.
“For me, put the dog Pluto. But we need only one candidate. If there are several, we are fourth and no one guarantees the stability of the markets. In Olivos they are thinking about the elections and not about the government. Without a government, there are no possible elections, and everything will be a defeat”, the minister said before his companions on tour in Asia.
Massa appears careless, but play in secret outside and inside Peronism. It is likely that the governors sign a statement endorsing the position of the Minister of Economy. These are: order, ideas, a system and a road map that allows the Frente de Todos -or the same coalition with another name- to reach the ballot against Javier Milei or Patricia Bullrich.
It will not be a coincidence that the governors coincide with Massa’s electoral position. The minister spoke with them and his arguments convinced the provincial leaders who will meet in the coming days at the Federal Investment Council (CFI). Following the governors’ statement, the Minister of Economy will advance with the General Confederation of Labor (CGT).
In this context, Massa’s internal movements are aimed at achieving a simple and devastating objective for Alberto Fernández: show that you are alone and isolated, that he is still the President and that there is no room for internal bidding and a power vacuum, and that the Frente de Todos -taking advantage of the division in Together for Change- could be in an expectant position for the second round.
Massa’s internal offensive is a tactical piece in CFK’s general plan, that defines his next political movements before the proximity of June 14. That day the alliances are presented and it could happen that she decrees the formal cessation of the FdT and that she presents a similar coalition with a different electoral identity.
Cristina considers that the Frente de Todos is identified with the management of Alberto Fernández, and he wants to end that political relationship that seems to him an infinite failure due to its economic and social results.
Together with the silent movements of the vice president, who pulls the strings without casting a shadow, Massa tries to add international support to demonstrate that his political capacity crosses the border line of Argentina. The minister is completing an agreement with the IMF, and intends that the announcement of the end of the negotiations appear before June 24. On that date, the candidates for president of each party group will be announced.
Massa has direct access to the White House – in fact he was chatting in Beijing with influential figures from the Biden administration-, and considers that an agreement with the Fund can stabilize the markets and strengthen its image as a keyplayer before an internal stage that exhibits De Pedro, Scioli, Agustín Rossi and Juan Grabois.
The minister has one more letter to consolidate his pre-eminence before the eventual candidates of the ruling coalition: he could demonstrate that inflation begins to subside since May, and that the index would be below eight. It is nothing for the economy of every day, but it is a political argument -they explained in Shanghai- to strengthen the idea of ”order, program and a single candidate”.
The reconstruction of most of the political dialogues in the official delegation -which included a deputy chief of staff, two ministers, two state secretaries and six national deputies- allows us to infer a road map until June 24, the day that The lists of all the candidates who will compete in the PASO are presented:
1. A formal dialogue between Alberto Fernández and Cristina to “order” the president and define an electoral strategy
2. If there is an order agreed by the head of state and CFK, there should be a candidate. Massa says it can be anyone – in Beijing he quoted Mickey, Donald Duck and Pluto – but his political voracity shines in his eyes when he talks about this matter.
3. Polarize with Javier Miley and Patricia Bullrich. In the entourage they are betting on the defeat of Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and an eventual entry of the official coalition to the ballot.
4. Take advantage of the probable drop in inflation -miniscule in terms of daily life- to demonstrate that there is a plan that points to economic results in the medium and long term.
5. Use the IMF agreement in the same sense. That is to say: economic and financial chaos can be orderedbut for this it is necessary to appease internal disputes.
Massa will already be on the fifth floor of the Ministry of Economy on Monday. His priority is the negotiation with the IMF, he will have a reserved meeting with CFK and he will play all his chips for a political and personal objective that -for now- he puts in second place.
The minister cites Disneyland and dreams of Balcarce 50.
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