Manuel Adorni gave the introduction from the stage: “The exterminator of ‘curros,’ the annihilator of the fiscal deficit, the true executioner of Kirchnerism... please welcome Javier Milei!”
Behind the presidential spokesperson turned candidate, all of Milei’s ministers applauded. The President made his entrance, walking through the crowd. The shofar Jewish horn heard during Milei’s 2023 presidential campaign sounded once more and the crowd applauded the drop in inflation. The topic that got the least attention was the City of Buenos Aires.
Beneath the stage set up in Plaza Mitre, in the neighbourhood of Recoleta, for La Libertad Avanza’s campaign closing event, there was very little that seemed distinctly porteño. Among the thousands who came to support Adorni, very few were local residents or attending spontaneously. Most had arrived alongside representatives from their respective organisations, coming in from various towns across Greater Buenos Aires.
The most tense moment occurred just minutes before the event began. Within the crowd, a group of young people dressed in black began shouting. TV cameras approached and the voices were forthcoming. “They don’t want to pay me the 25,000 pesos they promised for coming here, and they held on to our DNI [national identification] cards,” said a woman named Danila, from Lanús.
The group confronted a man who, according to them, had contacted them via WhatsApp. “He recruits people for football... for River” Plate, said another young man. The conflict escalated and there was almost a physical altercation. The police intervened.
La Libertad Avanza has made a significant bet on Adorni, proclaiming him as their lead candidate for the Buenos Aires City legislature. The libertarians have decided to challenge the Macri faction in the capital, a city governed by PRO since 2007, and try to position themselves as the leading anti-Peronist option for porteños.
The event was meant to be a show of force. The slogan “Adorni es Milei” (“Adorni is Milei”), which the candidate has himself used, echoed across all the speeches.
“I’m not going to waste my time on the failed yellow lot who are stuck in fourth place,” shouted Milei from the stage, railing at PRO. The anti-Macri sentiment was palpable among the crowd, with chants and jokes about the recent public appearances by the former president and his party’s slate-topping candidate in the City, Silvia Lospennato.
A number of LLA figures spoke from the stage, including Buenos Aires City legislator Pilar Ramírez and Lower House Speaker Martín Menem. And to leave no doubt about the level of support Adorni enjoys, even Karina ‘El Jefe’ Milei addressed the party faithful.
The presidential chief-of-staff received a lukewarm round of applause from supporters. In contrast, the arrivals of Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Economy Minister Luis “Toto” Caputo were met with thunderous applause.
Ahead of the rally, tensions between top presidential advisor Santiago Caputo and LLA’s political organiser in Buenos Aires Province, Sebastián Pareja (who answers to Karina Milei), became clear. The root of the dispute – though no one says it aloud – is territorial. This plays out in conversations and aesthetics. On this occasion, each sought to show how much influence they wield.
Caputo’s organisation, Las Fuerzas del Cielo (“The Forces of Heaven”), summoned their supporters at the Floralis monument half-hour before the speech. Daniel ‘Gordo Dan’ Parisini, Agustín Romo, Santiago Santurio, Nahuel Sotelo and Alejandro Álvarez are among the most recognisable faces of the group – Athey handed out maroon flags and carried the Roman-style standards that stirred controversy when first introduced.
Las Fuerzas del Cielo managed to bring together some 200 people – mostly from Greater Buenos Aires – who later marched as a group into Plaza Mitre. YouTubers, influencers, young people and national government officials... that’s Caputo’s organisation’s greatest asset. They have made their presence known online.
In contrast, Pareja’s structure was identified by violet T-shirts. In the style of a traditional political machine, the organiser’s group arrived with flags, drums, and firecrackers.
Though there were echoes of La Libertad Avanza’s 2023 rallies, Milei’s party has clearly become part of the established national political machinery. And that always leads to internal tensions.
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