Cabinet Chief Juan Manzur plans to resign his post in February early next year ahead of a return to provincial politics in Tucumán.
The 59-year-old, according to multiple reports in local outlets, is planning to actively participate in next year’s elections in the northern region.
Manzur, who is currently on leave from his role as governor while serving in the national government, is rumoured to be considering an offer to second a ticket led by interim governor Osvaldo Jaldo.
Provincial elections are due to take place on May 14, 2023. Tucumán is one of a number of regions in Argentina that have moved to decouple their local elections from next year’s national vote.
Having served a second consecutive term, if not all of it in office, Manzur is ineligible to run for governor again. The move to second Jaldo, a figure with whom he has a turbulent relationship in the past, is a way to retain power in his stronghold.
According to sources quoted by the Noticias Argentinas news agency, the Cabinet chief’s ultimate goal is to stand as a potential Frente de Todos presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
The date chosen by Manzur to step aside is aimed at maintaining an "orderly and planned" exit, the sources said.
President Alberto Fernández is now considering who will replace the departing official as Cabinet chief, a position formerly held by his close ally Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero.
– TIMES/NA
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