High tension and rarefied climate in the Government after the emphatic request for definitions to Pedro’s “Wado”

Photos: Gaston Taylor

The Government was, once again, subsumed in a rarefied political climate after the string of cross-statements, in public, between the Minister of the Interior and Cristinista bishop, Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, and two officials very close to Alberto Fernández, the spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti, and the head of Social Development, Victoria Tolosa Paz, who demanded a clear answer about her position against the president. Conciliatory dialogues between the two spaces, where they evaluate how to move forward, always under an aura of secrecy, did not transcend. Rumors fly over that the government crisis could deepen, and in wing K, after shaking the hornet’s nest, they are now seeking to lower the tension, but remain silent.

In the surroundings of Wado de Pedro they maintain that he will not resign, after throwing the bomb in off against the President, last Wednesday. That day, he let it be known through off-the-record reports that he felt discomfort and “pain” because the President had not invited him to a conclave with representatives of Human Rights organizations at the Casa Rosada together with the President of Brazil, Inácio Lula. da Silva. And he attributed this “exclusion” to a kind of retaliation on the part of Alberto Fernández, who wants re-election, because the CFK minister expressed his intentions to succeed him in national command.

It may interest you: Tolosa Paz asked “Wado” De Pedro to clarify if he is fighting with the President: “Either you are inside or you are outside”

These statements caused deep anger in the most important offices of the Casa Rosada, where they resented the fact that he said them through third parties and anonymously. In the first place, Cerruti, spokesperson for the President, told accredited journalists, after his usual Thursday press conference, that De Pedro himself had made it clear to him, in a private conversation, that he did not think so, and that it was of a “lie” by the media that had published the minister’s ideas. In the Interior offices they did not deny the minister, and they ratified the minister’s annoyance with the same anonymous method.

The tension increased to the maximum on Friday at noon, when Tolosa Paz, the recently inaugurated minister, who is part of the very close circle of Alberto Fernández, redoubled the bet and put on the table the possibility of De Pedro leaving the Government. In an act in Mar del Plata, from a stage, she publicly asked the official k to clarify if he was fighting with the President: “Either you are inside, or you are outside,” she said.

These crossings generated different speculations in the Government. All officials maintained absolute secrecy regarding Infobae inquiries, and avoided providing definitions with first and last names through their networks or through radio or television interviews. In the Casa Rosada, the only thing they let out was indignation. They read De Pedro’s outburst as an extension of Cristina Kirchner’s “rage” after the setback she suffered due to the frustration of the meeting she hoped to have with Lula during her visit to Buenos Aires. “Wado came out to muddy the field because of Cristina’s anger because Lula planted her. And because Alberto Fernández had an enormous role with 20 presidents of the region. And because tomorrow (for today) he receives Scholz ”, analyzed an official from the Albertist environment.

But no one dared to venture whether the President will make a strong decision with respect to De Pedro, whose collaborators, in turn, repeated that he will not resign. Until the closing of this edition, a private conversation between the president and his Cabinet member had not been reported.

Alberto Fernández evaluates how to move forward in the face of the defiant attitude of his minister with his closest soldiers: the Secretary of the Presidency, Julio Vitobello; the Minister of Foreign Relations, Santiago Cafiero; the Deputy Chief of Staff, Juan Manuel Olmos, and with Tolosa Paz. They weighed consequences. If the crisis in the government triggers this weekend, it would cloud one of the activities that the head of state has been preparing diligently for weeks: the bilateral meeting with the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, scheduled for Saturday night , where they hope to strengthen the political link, position the President as a mediator in the war with Ukraine, and lay the foundations to sign investment agreements, also with businessmen.

It may interest you: Wado de Pedro questioned Alberto Fernández for excluding him from a meeting between Lula and human rights organizations

The atmosphere was very tense in the Government on Friday afternoon and into the night. In the Albertista offices they evaluated different hypotheses about the reasons why De Pedro fired the unexpected poisoned dart at the President. Some slipped that he had used Monday’s act with human rights organizations as an exclusion to launch his candidacy for president with the endorsement of Cristina Kirchner -whom he met on Tuesday, the day before his “off” demolished-, and raise his campaign for the primaries on the basis of the confrontation with the moderate wing of the Government.

Cristina Kirchner was able to see Petro and other presidents, but not Lula

They also ventured ideas about the possible outcome of the conflict. Basically, the options being handled are for Alberto Fernández to demand De Pedro’s resignation; or that the Minister of the Interior slams the door on his own initiative; or that they agree in private and reconcile in public. The latter is the farthest possibility.

In the event that De Pedro left the Government, another question arises: would he leave alone, or would his jump also imply the departure of the rest of Cristina Kirchner’s soldiers, such as Fernanda Raverta (Anses), Luana Volnovich (PAMI), Santiago Careers (YPF), among others? In rows K are silent. Meanwhile, there are rumors that the national deputy and head of La Cámpora, Máximo Kirchner, will reappear in public today. In his environment they did not confirm or deny it. But at a time of high volatility, his definitions could twist the rudder of the course of the crisis.

It may interest you: Lula left Argentina without meeting with Cristina Kirchner due to scheduling differences

In all the interpretations, the antecedent of the highest moment of the internal government party, which took place in 2021, after the defeat in the legislative elections, flew over. At that moment, De Pedro threw the first stone, representing Cristina Kirchner, who was very unhappy with Alberto Fernández, by resigning the President. He was followed by the rest of the front-line officials who answer to the vice president. In the end, that crisis ended up being resolved in favor of CFK: the heads of the Christian organizations stayed, and those who were ejected, first en masse and then dropper, were the Albertist ministers. The Frente de Todos remained united, although relations were never restored.

The difference, now, is that the electoral campaign is approaching, and the result could be different than two years ago, when the crisis broke out after the electoral process. For now, the players of the ruling party, embedded in the internal, begin to show their cards, and their actions could have repercussions on the organization chart of the national government.

Keep reading:

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