Argentine UCR Faction Calls for 2027 Presidential Candidate to Counter Milei

A faction within Argentina's Radical Civic Union (UCR) party, including prominent figures like Ernesto Sanz, Mario Negri, and Jesús Rodríguez, has gathered to urge the party to escape "irrelevance" and present a presidential candidate in 2027. The group, operating under the banner "Radicals, we are on time," aims to position the UCR as a viable alternative to both President Javier Milei's government and the Kirchnerist movement.

According to sources involved in organizing the event, the strategy involves nominating a presidential candidate – though specific names are being avoided for now – and forming a "center and republican" coalition with like-minded political spaces, potentially reviving the "Juntos por el Cambio" alliance. They believe a significant bloc of "orphaned" voters exists between "populism and the chainsaw," a demographic they intend to attract.

"As the Radical Party is now, we are heading for irrelevance. We are out of the conversation with citizens. The UCR is in a state of paralysis: we need to find a narrative that gives us relevance and connects us with society," stated one leader before the meeting. "The UCR must get used to not having a [presidential] candidate." The faction also expressed support for open primary elections (PASO).

Mario Negri told La Nación that the movement should "call for the construction of a democratic, republican center coalition with a sense of social, productive, and federal development. In this context, the Radical Party must have a presidential candidate." The meeting, however, did not have official UCR backing and was not attended by the party's governors, who maintain dialogue with the current administration, nor by national legislators, though invitations were reportedly open. Inés Brizuela, the national vice president of the UCR, did participate.

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La UCR debe desacostumbrarse a no tener candidato [presidencial].