Gerardo Morales and Facundo Manes appeared together at a programmatic meeting of the UCR, in Córdoba. The two presidential candidates had distanced themselves due to internal differences in electoral strategy and the photo decompressed the tension, although they failed to agree on a position for next month's definitions.
At a disadvantage with respect to the PRO candidates, both sectors are closely following the dispute between Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and Patricia Bullrich, promoting the unification of the lists of national legislators and, given the possibility that there would be no agreement, they do not rule out competition with formulas and aspiring deputies and senators crossed.
"This photo is good, I don't know if other parties can achieve it," Morales said, with Manes at his side, at the meeting in Córdoba. Both maintain their presidential candidacies, even with the preponderance of PRO candidates in the polls. The attempts to anoint a single candidate of the UCR were diluted when the governor of Jujuy proposed an internal one prior to the PASO and there was no agreement to realize it.
Mutual resentment had started earlier, with disputes over strategy over how radicalism should fight for the leadership of Together for Change and places on the lists.
Morales wanted Manes to be a candidate for governor of Buenos Aires, a district that reflects the weakness of the UCR to confront its partners. The deputy did not accept, with the suspicion that the head of the party intended to remain as the only candidate to the Casa Rosada to negotiate with the PRO.
Gerardo Morales, Facundo Manes and other radical leaders at the UCR program meeting this Friday in Cordoba.
In the run-up to the closing of the lists, the different tribes of the UCR analyze the scenario and the hypotheses to assemble the ballots of national legislators. "It is our great weak point, more than the province of Buenos Aires. You have to go to a list of ordinary legislators, as in 2015. That those at the bottom can choose anyone. If not, they leave you and choose the one that is better up," admitted a referent, more inclined to the Manes sector.
"No one knows how that story ends and that has many nervous," agreed on Morales' side. "It's going to be very difficult for that to happen. If in a province Patricia or Horacio are better off, why would they agree to unify? If they do, they keep the first places. In the lists of senators or in the smaller districts, those who are left out are going to compete with the other," said another of the main leaders of the UCR.
Patricia Bullrich with Néstor Grindetti, his pre-candidate for governor for the province of Buenos Aires.
One possible scenario will be cross-competition for lawmakers. The sector of Morales and Martín Lousteau with the part of the PRO aligned with Rodríguez Larreta and other internal lines of radicalism – the so-called Malbec group for that photo in the Harvest between Alfredo Cornejo, Gustavo Valdés, Luis Naidenoff and Manes himself – with Bullrich. From both spaces they assure that there is still no closed agreement.
That would not imply for the moment that the radicals lower their candidacies. "Facundo and Patricia could have the same list of legislators, Gerardo and Horacio the same in any case," they argued not to advance those definitions, which they estimated will arrive around June 24.
Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and his pre-candidate for governor of Buenos Aires, Diego Santilli.
From the PRO they considered that for now it is most likely that there will be competition for national deputies and senators. "Today the stage is everyone with their legislators. The radicals charge at both windows," they also took the opportunity to chicanerize the partners.
The discussion in the Province
In Buenos Aires, Maximiliano Abad – head of the Province Committee and pre-candidate for governor for the UCR – is pushing for an agreement for a single candidate of Together for Change in the country's main district.
Maximiliano Abad, head of the Provincial Committee, with Luis Naidenoff and Alfredo Cornejo.
"The province is divided into three-thirds. We cannot run the risk of coming third, fourth and fifth in the PASO. If we do not find the useful vote we can lose," the Buenos Aires legislator told Radio Rivadavia on Sunday. Bullrich defined last week that his candidate will be Nestor Grindetti. Rodriguez had long ago chosen Diego Santilli.
Close to Cornejo they coincide with the view of Abad and even raise the bet on the need to get for the eventual only candidate also the endorsement of Javier Milei, although they are not sure that it will be viable in terms of electoral engineering. On the side of Morales, on the other hand, they question the head of the Provincial Committee, closer to Manes.
"It's logical what Horace did. Why are you going to share Santilli if he is the best measurer? Abad should have made a strategy for the radicalism to have a candidate. Now what it raises depends on the internal PRO and is their problem, not ours, "they said. Morales is shown in Buenos Aires territory with Gustavo Posse, mayor of San Isidro. The crossed presidential formulas will be another reason for negotiations, the results of which will condition the rest of the boxes.
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