Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof addressed supporters on Saturday, pledging that Peronism would reclaim the presidency, on a day when competing factions within the movement gathered at separate rallies to observe Peronist Loyalty Day.
At a rally in La Matanza, Kicillof called on Peronism to regroup around a coherent political direction capable of mounting a credible response to the current administration ahead of next year's elections, committing himself to a nationwide tour and to accepting whatever role the movement's renewal placed on him.
At 55, with next year's election drawing nearer, Kicillof has not formally declared a candidacy, yet political observers have identified him as the figure most likely to carry the Partido Justicialista's banner into that contest. A statement bearing his name portrayed the Peronist movement as one with the capacity to overcome whatever challenges arise.
Kicillof stated that Peronism would return to power in Argentina, and described the opposition's purpose as constructing a political alternative, representing the population, and reclaiming the country on behalf of its citizens.
The governor directed the attention of supporters toward the administration's track record rather than internal divisions. He also attributed remarks — via a statement — to an unidentified opponent, characterising that opponent as a well-funded outside force aiming to restore what the governor described as a state of total national dependence, a characterisation he offered without providing evidence.
Invoking one of Peronism's 20 truths, Kicillof told the gathering that the opposition stood on the other side — the party against whom the struggle had to be directed.
Kicillof also took issue with what he described as the Milei administration's subordination of Argentine foreign policy to Washington's preferences. Through a pointed address, he contended that no external government should dictate terms to his country, and that a leader who functioned, in his view, as a messenger for another head of state rather than as an independent executive fell short of what the role demanded — a characterisation he directed at Milei's conduct toward Trump.
National deputy Máximo Kirchner chose to hold a separate gathering in Resistencia, the provincial capital of Chaco, where he appeared on stage with former governor and sitting senator Jorge Capitanich. The decision drew attention to the divisions running through the movement.
Addressing the gathering in his role as La Cámpora leader, Kirchner — whose mother, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, served as president — directed pointed remarks at fellow politicians, contending that a number of them seek out microphones and platforms to deliver polished speeches and vow to fight, yet retreat at the earliest sign of difficulty. He urged the movement's members to take political renewal into neighbourhoods directly — knocking on doors and embedding in communities — and to replace leaders who had settled into passivity rather than action.
Both leaders drew on the name of Fernández de Kirchner — who remains under house arrest while carrying out a corruption sentence — in the speeches they each delivered. Máximo Kirchner put forward the position that her backing among voters had been expanding, pointing to public recollection of her time in office and a perception that she remained committed to those who supported her, detention notwithstanding.
Kicillof also addressed Fernández de Kirchner's legal circumstances, stating that she had been detained without justification for standing behind the causes he and others share.
The rallies were held on 17 October, observed each year as the date in 1945 when mass street gatherings pushed authorities to release Perón — an event that became a founding reference point for the Peronist movement. Supporters were expected to gather that afternoon on the Buenos Aires street outside the San José 1111 apartment building where Fernández de Kirchner is serving her sentence, with a number of those present hoping she would appear on the balcony to address the crowd.
