With 27 mayors in the Province, the UCR raises the price to negotiate agreements with LLA-PRO or non-K Peronism

The confirmation of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's conviction following the Supreme Court ruling put the Buenos Aires electoral fray on standby , among other things because she had been running for the Third Section . In the province of Buenos Aires, the closure of the Peronist party has repercussions for all other parties, and the Radical Civic Union (UCR) has raised the bar with its 27 mayors in an election that is expected to be very territorial.

The nervous scenes across all political parties will be triggered by the finalization of lists on Saturday, July 19. But before that, in 20 days, Independence Day marks the finalization of alliances, a key moment especially for the UCR since the split of Together for Change, its agreement with the PRO (Progressive Party of Venezuela), the Civic Coalition, and other parties.

Following the election of party authorities won by Miguel Fernández , former mayor of Trenque Lauquen and sponsored by National Senator Maximiliano Abad , the faction of Martín Lousteau , also a senator and president of the National UCR, went to court. Today, the situation remains under judicial review, but the parties agreed to launch the party with two contingency bodies.

After getting operational, the first step was to meet with the 27 Radical mayors, all from the interior of Buenos Aires. Most of the mayors were asked about the possibility of joining an alliance with La Libertad Avanza and the PRO, but they said they don't want the Libertarians. However, they have been working with Macri for ten years.

But in recent weeks, another possibility has emerged: an agreement with non-Kirchnerist Peronists and neighborhood activists. The facilitator is provincial senator Joaquín de la Torre, whose coalition includes mayors Julio Zamora (Tigre) and Fernando Gray (Esteban Echeverría), as well as former mayors like Juan Zabaleta (Hurlingham). Also participating is neighborhood activist Guillermo Britos (Chivilcoy).

That group has made calculations and is hopeful of comfortably winning the Fourth Section over an LLA-PRO alliance and Kirchnerism. But they need two PRO mayors within the coalition: Pablo Petrecca (Junín) and Maria José Gentile (9 de Julio). There are 20 days left for that negotiation; the sectional meetings end this Saturday, and they hope to have a definition of alliances by next week.

Meanwhile, the UCR (Citizens of the Radical Civic Union) issued a statement in which they do not rule out competing with the pure third list, that is, as the Radical Civic Union, without alliances. "The Radical Civic Union (UCR) is moving forward with its formation in the 135 municipalities of the province of Buenos Aires, with the goal of consolidating its territorial structure and seeking to put debates on the Province's weak points on the agenda."

"We are convinced that crucial decisions must be made from the bottom up," the Radicals reiterate, and that is why this week they are holding sectional meetings to hear the opinions of the Committees of the 135 districts of the Province of Buenos Aires.

"The split must serve to discuss the agenda of the real problems facing the people of Buenos Aires. The discussion on security and the debate surrounding education, the situation at IOMA, and the state of provincial highways must be key campaign themes. If the election becomes an empty and nationalized slogan, we will be missing a tremendous opportunity to demand answers from the government and raise the bar for our representatives," Radical Party members maintained.

Today, the Radicals govern Rojas in the Second Section; Magdalena in the Third; Lincoln, General Viamonte, Florentino Ameghino, Trenque Lauquen, and General Arenales in the Fourth, where they are seen as victorious.

They are very strong in the Fifth Section, holding 12 of the 27 municipalities: Ayacucho, Balcarce, General Belgrano, General Lavalle, Lezama, Lobería, General Madariaga, Maipú, Monte, Rauch, San Cayetano, and Tandil. The Fifth Section represents almost 10% of the Buenos Aires electorate.

They also administer Adolfo Gonzales Chaves, General Dorrego, General La Madrid, Pellegrini, Tres Lomas, and Adolfo Alsina in the Sixth; and General Alvear and Saladillo in the Seventh, the smallest of the electoral sections.

In December, the terms of five Radical senators (Luis Celillo, Flavia Delmonte, Eugenia Gil, Ariel Martínez Bordaisco, and Agustín Máspoli) and nine deputies (Viviana Dirolli, Pablo Domenichini, Claudio Fragul, Nazarena Mesias, Julio Pasqualin, Emiliano Balbin, Anahí Bilbao, María Belén Malaisi, and Claudio Alberto Rossi) from different parties will expire.

On September 7, Buenos Aires residents will elect 23 provincial senators, 46 provincial deputies, 1,097 council members in the 135 municipalities, and 401 school counselors.