BUENOS AIRES, May 3, 2025 (AP) — Argentina's main opposition coalition, Union for the Homeland, failed to agree on a unified candidate for August's open primary elections during a marathon party convention Sunday, deepening internal divisions five months before congressional midterms that could determine whether President Javier Milei gains the legislative support he needs to advance his remaining reforms.
The convention, held at a downtown Buenos Aires hotel that had to be switched at the last minute due to security concerns, ended at 3 a.m. Monday without a candidate selection after the three principal factions — led by Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof, former Economy Minister Sergio Massa, and La Cámpora youth leader Máximo Kirchner — refused to yield on competing claims to leadership.
Political analyst Eduardo Fidanza of Management & Fit said Peronism is not dead but it is certainly not coherent. They agree on one thing: they hate Milei. On everything else — economics, candidates, strategy, message — they are at war. And the clock is ticking toward August 10.
The split means the opposition will likely field multiple candidates in the August primaries, a scenario that could dilute anti-Milei votes and benefit the president's La Libertad Avanza coalition. Current polling suggests Milei's coalition could gain 12-15 seats in the 257-member Chamber of Deputies if the opposition remains divided, though it would still fall short of a majority.
Kicillof, who governs Buenos Aires Province and its 17 million residents — 38% of the national electorate — has positioned himself as the most visible national figure in the Peronist camp. But his association with the unpopular Fernández administration and his handling of provincial finances under Milei's austerity have eroded his support outside the Greater Buenos Aires corridor.
Massa, whose 2023 presidential campaign collapsed under hyperinflation that reached 211% annually, has struggled to rehabilitate his image. Kirchner, son of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, retains strong support among hardcore Kirchnerist bases in the Buenos Aires suburbs but polls poorly with centrist voters who determine national elections.
"We will present our candidate and let the voters decide," Kicillof told reporters after the convention, his voice hoarse from 14 hours of negotiations. "Democracy is messy, but it's better than the authoritarianism Milei offers. Our internal differences are nothing compared to the danger Milei represents for Argentine democracy."
The Radical Civic Union (UCR), Argentina's historic centrist party, is also fielding its own primary candidate — Martín Lousteau, a senator from Buenos Aires — creating a further complication for the opposition. Lousteau said his party would not subordinate itself to "Peronist chaos" and would run independently in August, splitting the anti-Milei vote in key districts.
For Milei, the opposition disarray is a political gift delivered six months before the elections that will define his presidency. "While they fight over who gets to lose, we are governing," the president said at a rally in Córdoba last week before 18,000 supporters. "Let them tear each other apart. Argentina has moved on."
