BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner took over the Peronist party on Wednesday, vowing to return to challenge the wildly popular libertarian President Javier Miley, who took office last year.
Kirchner has a tough task ahead of him: reuniting a longtime party that fell apart after Miley’s election. By then, Miley was known as a cynical economic commentator.
Miley promised to oust what he considered the political elite and take a chainsaw to the subsidy-heavy state.
Kirchner said, “When you have a crazy-looking neighbor who comes out in his yard with a chainsaw … even if he swears he’s not going to do anything to me, I still lock myself in my house.” I will,” Kirchner said. Found on Wednesday.
Kirchner ran as the Peronists’ vice-presidential candidate in last year’s election, alongside then-Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
Miley’s approval ratings remain high after a year in office as her austerity measures have steadily brought down the South American country’s triple-digit inflation rates.
Kirchner was once the face of Peronism. She served two consecutive terms as president from 2007 to 2015, and was vice president under President Alberto Fernández from 2019 to 2023.
He has lost popularity in recent years as his legal challenges mount. Last month, a court upheld his conviction for awarding a state contract to a friend, along with a six-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban from holding office.
Kirchner has denied wrongdoing and is expected to take the case to the nation’s Supreme Court.
