May 27 (Reuters) - Leaders within Peronism, Argentina's main opposition movement, are looking to capitalize on President Javier Milei's declining popularity and push to form a broad alliance ahead of next year's presidential election.
Axel Kicillof, governor of the province of Buenos Aires and head of the Peronist Justicialista party there, told Reuters talks are under way to form a Peronist coalition that could also include politicians from parties at odds with Milei, who has reduced staggering inflation while implementing sweeping austerity measures.
The defeat of Argentina's Peronist opposition in October's midterm election - where voters gave Milei a mandate to push forward with an ambitious economic overhaul - exposed the weaknesses of the fractured movement and its competing leaders and raised questions about how it will plot a future comeback.
Milei has said he expects to run for a second term. The opposition has not announced its candidates, but potential runners include Kicillof and Sergio Massa, a former economy minister tied to the Peronist movement who lost the presidency to Milei in 2023.
MILEI FACES TOUGH CHALLENGE
Some polls show Milei in danger of losing a second presidential race. According to a May poll by Opina Argentina, Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party and the Peronist camp would find themselves in a technical tie. Polling group Trespuntozero shows 42% of voters saying they would definitely or possibly vote for Kicillof, compared to 34% for Milei.
Peronism is most strongly associated with opposition leader Cristina Kirchner, the former president who is serving a six-year sentence at her home in Buenos Aires for corruption. Under her tenure, heavy public spending was blamed for soaring inflation, which worsened under the presidency of Alberto Fernández, when she was vice president.
According to Opina Argentina, 39% of voters have a positive image of Milei, whose approval rating - which was 53% more than a year ago -- has been hurt by government corruption scandals and purchasing power that has fallen behind inflation. A few points above him is center-left Kicillof with 43%. Massa has 33%.
Talks for a Peronist coalition could be complicated by tensions between factions ranging from the center-left to the center-right. But the desire to beat Milei could "act as an incentive for all actors to set aside some of their interests and come together in a coalition,” said Facundo Nejamkis of Opina Argentina.
Campaigning for the October 2027 presidential election is expected to kick off in August, following the World Cup and the local winter holidays.
(Reporting by Nicolás Misculin; Writing by Leila Miller; Editing by Rod Nickel)
