BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner took the helm of the Peronist party on Wednesday, vowing to stage a comeback against widely popular libertarian President Javier Milei, who came to power last year.
Kirchner faces a difficult task: reuniting the long-standing party that fell apart after Milei’s election. Until then, Milei was known as an eccentric economic commentator.
Milei vowed to oust those he considered the political elite and take a chainsaw to the subsidy-heavy state.
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“If you have a crazy neighbor who comes into his backyard with a chainsaw … even if he swears he’s not going to hurt me, I’m still going to lock myself in my house,” Kirchner said. Milei on Wednesday.
Kirchner participated in last year’s elections as the Peronists’ vice-presidential candidate, alongside then Economy Minister Sergio Massa.
Milei’s approval ratings after a year in office remain high as his austerity measures have steadily lowered 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 Fernandez from 2019 to 2023.
She has lost popularity in recent years as her legal challenges mounted. Last month, a court upheld her conviction for handing out state contracts to a friend, which carried 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 country’s Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Rod Nickel)
