> FRENTE DE TODOS DOUBLES DOWN IN BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE

Ruling coalition to stage two closing campaign rallies – Wednesday in Mar del Plata and Thursday at La Plata’s Estadio Unico stadium – as voting time draws near. Frente de Todos are confident, but the opposition believes it’s more of an open contest.

The closing campaign rally ahead of next Sunday’s PASO primaries will be a double event for Frente de Todos, as the government bets big on Buenos Aires Province.

The double-hander, both of which will take place in the nation’s most populous region, comes with the government showing optimism over its chances of maintaining its results in the district.

The first of these Peronism’s closing campaign rallies will be in Mar del Plata this coming Wednesday and it will bring together the main leaders of the ruling coalition. The Atlantic resort was also the chosen stage in 2019 to close the presidential campaign.

The protagonists of the event will be the coalition’s congressional candidates in Buenos Aires Province, Victoria Tolosa Paz and Daniel Gollán, accompanied by the coalition’s main partners. The presence of Vicepresident Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is expected to be confirmed in the next few days.

The following day, on the eve of the electoral curfew, it will be the turn of the Estadio Único Diego Armando Maradona in La Plata. The event will take place on the same day the Argentine national football team takes on Bolivia.

Alongside the main leaders of the ruling coalition, including President Alberto Fernández and Fernández de

Kirchner, there will be screens installed via which the governors and inland leaders will participate. Some of the latter are still deciding whether to travel to the Buenos Aires provincial capital or remain in their provinces to close the campaign there.

The government is convinced that the election results in Buenos Aires Province will be positive. The scandals surrounding the birthday party of First Lady Fabiola Yañez at Olivos have hurt the presidential image, but party leaders say they will not unduly affect the government’s vote.

Looking at the numbers, the latest opinion polls show a 1.5 percent dip for Frente de Todos in the region, but even so, the presidential entourage believes that there will be a difference of five or six points in their favour. Consultants working for Frente de Todos admit that the presidential image is at its worst ever level, but say that next Sunday the photo of unity will make the difference.

Yet in opposition’s eyes, the primaries are more of an open contest. Juntos por el Cambio leaders assure a favourable result between Diego Santilli and Facundo Manes.

“The election is very close and the government trusts in its votes too much when a very high percentage of the electorate is still undecided,” they respond.

In the Casa Rosada they ignore the warning. With positive numbers in Buenos Aires Province, they have decided to stage their last two campaign photos there. There is a different scenario in other provinces where they govern, like Entre Ríos and Santa Fe, where the result is uncertain.