How Is Alberto Fernández Left Without the Support of Kirchnerism?

When Alberto Fernández defeated Mauricio Macri in the 2019 Presidential Elections and became the new president of Argentina, his motto was forceful "we are going to put Argentina on its feet" , a phrase with direct criticism of the outgoing president. Likewise, it was a promise that the trans-Andean economy and advances in social justice would go hand in hand and lead to a better outlook. All this with Cristina Fernández as vice president, her right hand and representative of pure and hard Kirchnerism, the one that governed for twelve consecutive years between 2003 and 2015.

However, the coronavirus pandemic hit the world hard, and Argentina received the health and economic impact with disproportionate force. Currently, Argentines face the fourth wave of Covid-19, according to the figures provided by the Ministry of Health of the Nation in its latest report, since the beginning of the health emergency, Argentina has confirmed 9,135,308 cases of coronavirus, a fact that could be even greater if it is considered that the testing capacity is often limited.

Another discouraging fact is that to date more than 128,700 people have died from coronavirus according to the Ministry of Health of the Nation, and although this indicator is going down mainly due to the vaccination process, these are numbers that have left a country that has not been able to get up in recent times.

Inflation is an Uncontrollable Phenomenon

We must talk about the economic impact that the coronavirus has brought with it, and these figures leave Argentina in a worrying situation. They have not managed to control the rise in prices and according to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), last April the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 6%. In the year-on-year comparison, inflation advanced 58%. In other words, if Fernandez promised to fight inflation, he would be losing this fight by far.

And here comes the move Roberto Feletti, former Vice Minister of Economy during the first term of Cristina Fernández, who took office last October 2021 in Internal Trade with the mission of controlling the prices of the basic basket, and that a little more than seven months after taking office, he has decided to resign due to disagreements with Alberto Fernández and because he was unable to control average inflation, which was one of his main initial objectives.

The figures are lapidary, the data shown by the Eco Go consultancy allows us to appreciate that while Feletti was in office, the basic family basket that generated so much controversy at the time rose 6.7% in April and accumulated a year-on-year rate of 59.4%; which, added to the inflation that was previously discussed, leaves the now-former member of the Fernández Government in a bad position, and since the public accountant by profession was close to Cristina, who has been critical of Alberto Fernández and has even Shortly in a speech offered at a university, he said that from the Government "we are not honoring the trust they placed in us".

Fernández Loses Key Support and Is a Left  Alone

If Roberto Feletti was a representative of Kirchnerism and is now on his way out, added to the fact that he had remained under the orders of the current Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, whom Cristina Fernández has questioned on more than one occasion, it is understood that the relationship between the president and vice president is not the best. Looking ahead to the 2023 Presidential Elections, with a growing rise in the approval of the opposition and in the midst of the economic crisis, this conflict may break out soon.

For Kirchnerism, perhaps this is an opportunity to increasingly break away from the Government and position Cristina Fernández as a candidate for the presidency with a view to 2023, which would not be unreasonable. More so if one considers that some leaders of Together for Change, such as the deputy Leopoldo Moreau or the trade unionist Walter Correa, began a campaign for the former president to be the candidate of the ruling party in the next presidential elections.

While for Alberto Fernández this represents a new problem that must be added to his long list of complications, with inflation that does not stop, with his discussions with the vice president and with the criticism he has faced, this could be a new beginning for a President who still has more than a year left in power and who has announced that he will try to run for re-election next year. Who knows, in this race that is already being paved, you could face each other with whoever was your running mate almost three years ago and who today is the vice president. Because in politics everything is yet to be written, and this will surely be repeated in the coming months at the Casa Rosada.