Mauricio Macri I was aware that Cristian Ritondohead of the Pro bench, had been summoned by the president Javier Miley to a meeting alone at the Casa Rosada. But the former president was not the promoter of the lunch between Milei and one of his most faithful supporters.
After he had a fierce fight with the governor of Chubut, Ignacio Torres, one of the leaders of Macri’s party, Milei made a gesture when receiving Ritondo in his office for two hours and tried to calm things down between Pro and La Libertad Avanza. Both agreed to avoid clashes between two natural allies on the ideological spectrum and the new political board, join forces in Congress and even explore the chance of converging in the electoral offer of the 2025 legislative elections. Until last night, Macri and Milei swore that They had not gotten together, but they conveyed that they maintain a fluid dialogue.
Despite the signs of truce sent by the President from the epicenter of power, macristas and libertarians coexist as allies in a climate of mutual distrust. It is that the statements made by the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Martin Menem, THE NATION Regarding Macri’s national management in the period 2015-2019 and the recipes that Cambiemos applied to reduce public spending or the fiscal pact with the provinces – he said that “it failed” because “it brought back Kirchnerism” – caused strong unrest in the ranks of Pro; especially, in the sector that responds to the former president. The reproaches arose even from within the bench led by Ritondo.
“Javier is on one frequency and part of La Libertad Avanza is on another. “They are afraid of Pro’s embrace, afraid that the government will take advantage of them,” says one of those in charge of building bridges between both parties. In fact, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni once again accused Torres for the alleged expenses in the organization of “25 festivals” in Chubut, despite confirming that the Executive transferred the money owed by the Public Transportation Compensation Fund to that province. “They want Pro without the Pro. For this reason, they are betting on recruiting our leaders, but they are not making formal progress in an agreement,” adds another of the heads of the force that Macri founded.. They speculate that Milei is delaying a comprehensive agreement with Pro to reach that stage more strengthened or take care of its hard core.
The day before yesterday Milei and Ritondo had spoken at length about the tense fight between Torres and the Casa Rosada over the withdrawal of co-participation funds from the Patagonian province. Ritondo tried to bring positions closer: he suggested that Torres was an ally who coincided with the direction of the Government, despite the differences over resources or the treatment of the provinces.
Those around Milei still cannot digest that Macri has not distanced himself from Torres’ controversial move of threatening to stop oil supply and production if the Executive did not restore the cut funds. The unrest increased when it emerged that Macri had held a meeting with Torres and the governor Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos) in their offices before the conflict broke out. Did Milei suspect that Macri could be endorsing Torres’ maneuver? It is the version that was spread by a sector of bullrichism that is at war with Macri after the breakdown of the link between the founder of Pro and the Minister of Security.
Those around Macri categorically reject these speculations. What’s more, they repeat that Macri sought to mediate between Torres and Milei to find a consensual solution and prevent the dispute from escalating to public opinion. For example, the polls to bring positions closer reached the ears Santiago CaputoMilei’s influential advisor.
Macri’s dilemma
The Patagonian conflict put Macri in front of a dilemma: preserve the link with Milei or defend one of the three governors of Pro to avoid hemorrhaging in his party? He did not share Torres’ idea of threatening a blockade of oil supplies, although he understood the demand for funds. For that reason, he asked him to “stop the ball” and try to exhaust the negotiation options. In private, Macri did not hide his frustration in recent days over the spiraling confrontation between Torres and Milei.. “It’s like when two friends fight; It is uncomfortable to agree with one or the other,” summarizes one of Macri’s loyalists in the Pro leadership. Therefore, the former president preferred not to show his head and avoid a statement.
The struggle between the Casa Rosada and Chubut cooled the chance of a comprehensive agreement between Milei and Macri being finalized before the opening of ordinary sessions tomorrow. That idea had gained strength after Milei’s first setback in Congress. Despite the short circuit that Torres’ reaction caused, the leader of La Libertad Avanza and the former president maintain frequent contact by phone. What’s more: Milei dedicated a battery of praise to Macri during the two-hour talk with Ritondo at the Casa Rosada. Throughout the conversation, he also highlighted the work of the Pro bloc in the ruling party’s frustrated battle to obtain half-sanction for the omnibus law in Deputies. Near Milei they appreciate that Ritondo has kept the Macrista bloc united when voting in general and in particular.
The libertarians open the door to the chance for Ritondo to lead an interblock that brings together the 38 LLA legislators with the 40 of the Pro troops. However, the head of the Pro bench has already warned that this option is not viable for him and makes no sense, especially after the agreement they sealed with Unión por la Patria and Menem for the distribution of authorities in the strategic commissions. . Meanwhile, Milei strategists oppose the possibility that Ritondo could replace Menem at the head of the Chamber of Deputies in the event that Pro and LLA close an institutional agreement to come together in a new parliamentary and government alliance.
The internal of Pro
Knowing the difficulties in converging with the libertarians and closing agreements with the small Milei table, Macri is dedicated to reorganizing the Pro to win the presidency of the party in the March 19 elections. His strength disbelieves that Bullrich dares to slam the door. They assume that the minister has no room to move and that she will have to remain in Pro if she wants to guarantee places for her people on the lists of deputies and senators in 2025. “We have not decided yet,” they comment near the former minister, who promoted a declaration of his loyalists in Pro to differentiate themselves from Macri and criticize Torres’ attitude in the fight with Milei. Macri wants to achieve a unity list and sends signals that he will seek to contain the minister. And promote new leadership to prevent the force from disappearing after the crisis due to the defeat at the polls. Third place and the promotion of Milei force Pro to reinvent itself.
In Pro they are already doing the math with a view to 2025, knowing that the libertarians took away their centrality and now have greater electoral representation. And they focus their expectations on an eventual agreement between Macri and Milei. Even party leaders began informal conversations with libertarian exponents, such as Caputo, to explore the chance of converging in the next midterm elections, an idea that hovered over the lunch between Milei and Ritondo, as reported by LA NACION. “There is a common path and there is a broad outline of ideas that are shared, but there is internal resistance in both parties,” says one of the Pro representatives aware of the negotiations. The talks revolve around the armed forces in the province of Buenos Aires, a stronghold of Kirchnerism, but they already dream of joining forces in Córdoba. They know that the libertarians could absorb the Pro electorate, a phenomenon similar to that which radicalism suffered with the arrival of Macri to power in 2015. For this reason, the promoters of formalizing a pact with Milei think about retaining a base of support in the fishbowl. of Pro and libertarians. “We are trapped because if Milei does well, the electorate will eat us; and if things go badly for him, he drags us down,” summarizes one of the leaders of the space.
Macri rejects Bullrich’s plan to navigate towards a merger with LLA, but does not rule out an electoral alliance in 2025. He says that the Pro must maintain its identity and collaborate with the Government in Congress. For now, his loyalists are convinced that his landing in the Presidency of Pro will be the key to negotiating with the libertarians in case Milei suffers turbulence in management and goes to Macri to strengthen his Cabinet. The figure of Macri, they presume, would be a kind of safe conduct. “Accepting a position in the Milei government now is like playing Russian roulette. You don’t know if they are going to kick you out after two days,” they say in the macrismo. In the last few hours, another leader linked to Pro made his departure from the Government official: he is the lawyer and former Buenos Aires legislator. Diego Mariaswho had taken over less than a month ago as deputy auditor of the public media system.
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