MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: No love lost between Macri and Bullrich

Bullrichists are not leaving the PRO but rather preparing for next year's primaries against the Macrists

There seems to be no love lost between former Argentine President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich after Thursday's events at the Propuesta Republicana (PRO) Party Assembly the latter was supposed to chair but was sidelined. The rift between Macri and Bullrich has been going on for months, it was also reported in Buenos Aires.

Macri and 2023 presidential candidate Bullrich had reportedly agreed that she would step down as party board chairwoman to allow Macri's return to the post, in exchange for the top position at the assembly, the body establishing party policies. However, differences erupted regarding the nature of the PRO's alliance with the ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) of President Javier Milei.

In the end, former Pinamar Mayor and current Congressman Martín Yeza, a diehard Macrist, was appointed to chair the Assembly as those leaders aligned with Bullrich left the meeting, during which it was decided that “the PRO will not merge with other parties,” namely LLA despite the occasional support to Milei.

On the other hand, Bullrich had argued -in vain- that the PRO should remain faithful to the voters who accompanied her in the first round and then opted for Milei in the runoff. “We decided to support Javier Milei because if the change did not happen now, we would sink. And in 6 months we already see an unprecedented change, achieved against all odds”, said Bullrich. We signed a contract with society that cannot be broken,“ she added. ”We cannot stay, once again, halfway“.

Despite the differences, Bullrichists said they would not be leaving the political space and would rather settle the matter through next year's primary elections.

”Our unconditional commitment to change and freedom,“ Bullrich wrote on X. ”It was a commitment with the Argentines who believed in our conviction to accompany, with all our strength, the one who managed to represent change with more strength,“ she also posted while arguing that her group's endorsement of Milei's race was decided ”to put a stop to a candidate who made, during the campaign, the most brutal use of the State we have ever seen in history, taking Argentina to the deepest pit of decadence and impoverishment.“

”I believe that the PRO has to become something that does not exist, which is a party that resignifies itself, reinvents itself, takes the best practices of what is being done in different parts of the world,” said Yeza upon accepting his role as Assembly Speaker.