10/07/2026 18:15 - Politica
On July 8, 2026, Senator Patricia Bullrich generated a fracture within the ruling coalition by rejecting the implementation of 'listas colectoras' (joint electoral lists). While she expressed support for suspending the PASO (Primarias Abiertas Simultáneas y Obligatorias - Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory Primaries) due to their financial cost, she warned that 'colectoras' mean 'deforming the electoral system.' This stance directly impacts the strategy of President Javier Milei and Diego Santilli, who are seeking agreements with provincial governors to drive votes toward the 2027 re-election bid.
The Casa Rosada (Government House) needs votes from provincial legislators to eliminate the PASO. In exchange, governors want to place their own candidates for senator and deputy positions. The Peronist 'invention' of the 'colectoras' emerged as a tool for each sector to hang their lists off Milei's candidacy. However, Bullrich's rejection, aimed at defending her republican voter base, complicates this maneuver, as she warns that what Peronism 'used for great profit' is not the best republican practice.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo secured a loan operation for USD 3.2 billion with commercial banks (BBVA, Santander, and Deutsche Bank), 95% guaranteed by multilateral organizations like the World Bank. These funds aim to cover maturities estimated between USD 4.4 and 4.8 billion. The operation raises suspicions due to a lack of transparency regarding the effective rate and the standardized 0.5% commissions, which in this case represent USD 16 million for the banks, channeled through the Bank of New York Mellon.
In the opposition field, Peronism is undergoing a strong internal crisis. Facundo Tignanelli, right-hand man to Máximo Kirchner in the Buenos Aires Legislature, raised tensions by comparing Governor Axel Kicillof to Augusto Vandor. Vandor was a powerful union leader assassinated in the 1970s after attempting to distance himself from Juan Domingo Perón's leadership. This analogy is interpreted as an internal warning and confirms that the goal of La Cámpora (a major Peronist youth faction) is to make Cristina Kirchner the 2027 presidential candidate.
On another front, the government is evaluating a nuclear project with the American company Meitner for USD 1.2 billion under the yet-to-be-sanctioned 'Súper RIGI' (a large investment incentive regime), in partnership with INVAP (Applied Research Company of the Province of Río Negro). The goal is to build a Small Modular Reactor (SMR). This occurs amidst layoffs at the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and debates over the State's role in technological development and the potential transfer of knowledge.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
