Argentina VP Kirchner gains power in the shadows as moderates retreat

FILE PHOTO: Argentina's Vice President and President of the Senate, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, looks on as lawmakers meet to debate and vote an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at the National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 17, 2022. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's leftist populist Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is gaining power behind the scenes after a government shakeup, redrawing battle lines within a weakened ruling Peronist coalition ahead of elections next year.

The center-left government of Alberto Fernandez, already dented by a midterm election loss last year, was thrown into disarray on Saturday by the abrupt exit of economy minister Martin Guzman, an important ally to the president.