For Patricia Bullrich The curtain has just been lowered on his political career. The former candidate of Together for Change He knew that it was his last chance to try to run for the Presidency. He longed all year for a victory over Horacio Rodríguez Larretabut when he obtained it in the PASO it turned out to be pyrrhic: both, together with Mauricio Macri, For the first time, they led the opposition coalition not to be part of the runoff. «We have not achieved the objectives we wanted for our Argentina… Today we accept defeat,» admitted Bullrich, although he avoided congratulating the winner of the election. Now the question is what the JxC member parties will do about the Milei factor, given that there are sectors in conflict over the issue. Will Together for Change break up or not? The radicals took a prudent distance from the PRO bunker and were already questioning the «macristas who are running to embrace Javier Milei«.
With 24 percent of the votes and third place in the national election, the defeat of Together for Change occurred after a fierce internal that bled them to the STEP, and a very disorderly campaign from that point on, where the different allies failed to reconcile a clear strategy after the blow that Milei’s first place represented to them: one week he tried to dispute the place of attacking the ruling party, another they questioned him him, most of the time they had to bend to the agenda that La Libertad Avanza was installing. In the middle, Macri was a disruptive factor who permanently seemed to flirt with Mileialthough he later came out to deny it.
The impact of the defeat of Together for Change is just beginning to be felt: in the coming days, it will be seen what position the different actors in the alliance will take with respect to the runoff. There are some within radicalism who have already warned that they will not vote for Milei. Others, including the elected governor of Santa Fe, Maximiliano Pullaro, they considered that it was better for Milei to win before any Peronist. How will they reconcile these positions? Will there be freedom of action? Will there be a breakup?
Wake on the Costanera
Bullrich once again chose Parque Norte as its center of operations, confirming the end of Costa Salguero as the sanctum sanctorum of the PRO and, later, of Together for Change. It was the end of many things on Sunday night.
This time, there was a centralized organization of the bunker, which came to life like in the old days: there was music playing in the background early to give the feeling of a triumph. Spokespersons close to the candidate came to speak with journalists, which was an improvement compared to the PASO, when the only spokesperson present was… the Toothless Wizard. But it didn’t last long.
From the moment the first data arrived from the witness tables, the spokespersons disappeared. The Bullrich leaders entered the private area. With a face of dismay, the candidate received the bad news. Hernán Lombardi hugged her, Luis Petri put a hand on her shoulder. Literally, the scene looked like something out of a wake. Outside, the music continued to play at its best to disguise what was already undisguisable.
From sadness they went to anger. In Bullrich’s environment, there was a lot of anger with Macri for permanently complicating his campaign from the PASO to the general elections. Many bills are likely to be passed when the dust settles. The radicals, meanwhile, imagine themselves far from a PRO leadership for the electoral alliance, either by being the ones who lead or by some type of fracture of the coalition. It’s all to be seen.
George the First
Jorge Macri was the only joy of the night for JxC. In fact, all the songs were dedicated to him, while he was climbing the CABA scrutiny.
«Come on, Jorge, come on, let’s say we won,» they chanted under a yellow flag, the old PRO color almost forgotten.
He was the first to leave, even when it was not yet clear whether or not he had won in the first round. He was accompanied by his cousin Mauricio Macri, who needed to be close to the winner.. «Noche magica» by Tan Biónica was playing, as if to remember past glories. She was there too Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and all the Buenos Aires allies, from Maximiliano Ferraro (from the Civic Coalition) until Roy Curtain (socialism).
Jorge Macri was the first to recognize that Bullrich had been left out of the national runoff: «The national results are not what we expected. It’s a shame. But the City is going to be the lighthouse of the Argentina we want», he stated, in a clear message that he is going to position himself to be the future leader of the PRO. «We are going to have to analyze what happened. We talked about it with Horacio, with Mariú (Vidal), with Mauricio,» he admitted, although the atmosphere when he left was festive. They left everything to Bullrich at the wake.
duck with orange
With «Her» by Tan Biónica playing in the background, Bullrich came out accompanied by almost all the national leaders (including Macri). The person in charge of raising her morale, as in private, was Lombardi: «The fight continues,» she shouted, perhaps recalling the combative Lombardi of the 80s.
As if to lift her spirits, they sang: «Patriiicia, Patriiicia.»
Bullrich took a breath like someone who wants to get through the bad moment quickly and began to admit defeat: «On this night where we have not achieved the objectives we wanted for our Argentina, we come to ratify with all the force the values of our cause, which goes beyond beyond a moment of defeat. Today we accept defeat,» he said.
However, it had its limits. She was not willing to greet him. Sergio Massa. He didn’t even name Javier Milei. «I’m not going to be the one to congratulate someone who was part of the worst government in Argentina. He was handing out money and putting the country in debt», he assured. «The country must abandon populism if it wants to grow and end poverty. Perhaps that value has fallen asleep today,» he admonished the electorate, in a much less introspective attitude than that shown by Jorge Macri. «I am not going to give up my convictions. We are never going to stop being what we are,» he said.
Regarding the end, he admitted that other leaders will be the ones to carry out the candidacies in the future. For her, he lowered the curtain.
Bunker scenes
The catering is back. In its beginnings, the PRO was characterized by offering food in its bunkers as if it were a business cocktail. That was receding in times of greater drought by Mauricio Macri, but Bullrich reinstated the tradition: lomito sandwiches, a sweets table with minibrownies, pastafrola, cheesecake, puddings and even a healthy menu: apples, tangerines and kiwis for those who wanted to escape from the flours. All washed down with sodas and flavored waters. Although…
Wine. At the end, Bullrich ironically served beer and glasses of very good wine for everyone. Perhaps she had been designed for another electoral scenario, but it was a way to exorcise the criticism that was made of her because – as she said in the campaign – she was once caught in a breathalyzer test, when Mauricio Macri was head of the Buenos Aires government. Jorge Macri, for his part, distributed the classic Jorgito alfajores.
The old playlist. Another somewhat lost custom of the PRO also returned: an extensive musical list, which above all included electronic music with an almost pathological insistence on Tan Biónica. But there was also room for some old hits from the 90s, like Vicentico.