Tomorrow, on the fourth floor of the Club Español, just two blocks from the iconic Obelisco, Jorge Macri will officially take over as president of PRO in Buenos Aires at 4 PM. The event is expected to be a closed affair without any scandals, a stark contrast to the recent national party assembly. This calm atmosphere is largely due to an agreement reached between the local leader and Patricia Bullrich, along with other internal factions.
Macri’s desire to maintain control over the party’s power structures will become evident as he has appointed key positions. For instance, he placed the mayor of Vicente López, Soledad Martínez, as the national vice president of PRO, alongside two vice presidents for the provincial branch, which will be led by Cristian Ritondo. Loyalists have been chosen to populate the party lists, reinforcing his influence. Notably, he stepped down from the presidency of the provincial party last May to assume his new role in the city.
Under Macri’s leadership, the Buenos Aires branch of PRO will now include a vice president in the form of the former larretista Clara Muzzio, along with pro-Bullrich officials Ezequiel Daglio and legislators Matías López and Paola Michielotto. The outgoing party leader, larretista Claudio Romero, will use this gathering to reflect on the party’s current state, asserting that the party’s finances are in order.
However, not everyone is pleased with these developments. Many authoritarian figures are unsettled by the critical and professional exercise of journalism, which is a cornerstone of democracy. These critics are often irritated by those who challenge the notion of an absolute truth.
Meanwhile, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta continues to express his dedication to the city. He has been holding meetings with local residents, recommending places to eat and enjoy in the Capital, and, about a month ago, he initiated working breakfasts to discuss the national situation.
These private meetings take place in the northern part of the city and involve both technicians and local leaders. For example, Hernán Lacunza recently gave an economic talk, and there was also a meeting focused on energy. Larreta invited senator Guadalupe Tagliaferri, known for her independence from the macrismo leadership, along with political advisor Marcelo Wechsler, Romero, Maximo Ferraro, Julia Pomares, and surprisingly, former deputy Daniel Lipovetzky, among others. For now, this group seems to be a circle of mutual support, but it might signify a nascent resistance against the attempts to align with La Libertad Avanza.
Adding to the political dynamics, an unusual event went largely unnoticed: on the same Thursday when Macri denied Bullrich the presidency of the assembly, Diego Valenzuela, the mayor of Tres de Febrero and an ally of Bullrich, was seen approving the management balance of Néstor Grindetti and Ritondo at a meeting for Independiente. He voted enthusiastically in favor, as captured in images shared on the club’s social media. Just a month earlier, Bullrich and Valenzuela had left their positions within the PRO blocks in the provincial legislature after losing control of the party.
On another note, the cohesion within the yellow bloc in the lower house has changed. Disagreements have been simmering in the group chat, culminating in an outburst after a video surfaced showing the Bolsonaro family presenting a medal linked to masculinity to President Javier Milei.
The chat flared up when former larretista and monzoísta Silvia Lospennato reacted with dismay to the video, expressing her sorrow through a tweet featuring the footage. Fernando Iglesias, who had previously clashed with Daiana Fernández Molero over a discussion on revenue sharing, responded to Lospennato’s concerns with a lengthy critique of past political actions regarding gender issues.
Lospennato countered Iglesias’s remarks, asserting that the excesses he mentioned do not justify homophobia. She expressed her disgust regarding statements made by Bolsonaro Jr., claiming that she does not need to seek underlying explanations to condemn them. She also revealed her history of opposing gender extremes, distancing herself from those views.
Source: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/politica/el-nuevo-rol-de-jorge-macri-los-desayunos-de-larreta-y-las-peleas-del-chat-de-diputados-pro.phtml
