The Argentine political landscape is beginning to show a curious movement: leaders who have been at odds for years are starting to share stages or build bridges. The phenomenon is not coincidental. Behind it is a strategic hypothesis that is increasingly repeated within Peronism: to form a broad front to confront Javier Milei, even if it means bringing together sectors that until yesterday seemed incompatible.
The most symbolic scene occurred this week when Miguel Ángel Pichetto visited Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at her home on San José 1111. The gesture surprised many because Pichetto had previously distanced himself from Kirchnerism; in 2019, he was a vice-presidential candidate alongside Mauricio Macri.
However, the deputy himself explained the meaning of the movement with a phrase that summarizes the new political climate.
“Peronism must forgive itself, look at the past, and reflect.”
The idea of “forgiveness” was not incidental. Pichetto insisted that Peronism must leave behind internal fractures to rebuild an electoral alternative.
“We must stop talking about the past, about the mistakes we've made, and start focusing on the present and the future.”
The goal, he explained, would be to construct a proposal from Peronism alongside the “national center” to win elections again, a formula that explicitly recalls the coalition that enabled Lula da Silva to return to power in Brazil.
Pichetto, Moreno, and the Attempt at Reconstruction
The movement was not limited to the meeting with Cristina. Shortly after, Pichetto also appeared at an event alongside Guillermo Moreno, a leader of doctrinal Peronism.
The image is politically significant: Moreno represents the most orthodox Peronism; Pichetto, on the other hand, symbolizes an institutional Peronism that even coexisted with Macri's government.
The coincidence does not seem coincidental. For months, both leaders have been discussing how to reconstruct the opposition space. For Moreno, the strategy requires something more than internal unity: to reorganize the entire political system. In that context, he launched a provocation that circulated through Argentine politics.
The former Secretary of Commerce stated that he even “dreamed” of a political convergence between Cristina Kirchner and Victoria Villarruel, a hypothesis that until recently seemed impossible.
This is not necessarily about a concrete alliance, but an idea that reflects the political climate: the possibility of breaking traditional ideological boundaries to confront the libertarian government.
The Brazilian Model
Behind these movements, an evident inspiration appears: the Brazilian model of Lula.
In 2022, Lula managed to return to power by forming an extremely broad coalition that included: leftist sectors, centrist parties, and leaders who had previously been adversaries.
The message that is starting to circulate within Peronism is similar: if Milei represents a break from the traditional political system, the response must be a coalition larger than Peronism itself.
That is why Pichetto talks about “building with everyone, without exclusions” and adding the “national center.”
Peronism After Milei
The electoral defeat of 2023 left Peronism in an unprecedented situation:
fragmented, lacking clear leadership, and with multiple currents competing against each other.
Today, the movement includes:
kirchnerism
federal Peronism
unionism
doctrinal Peronism from Moreno
PJ governors
The hypothesis that is beginning to take shape is that the only way to return to power is to bring them all together, even if it means coexisting with internal contradictions.
The New Pragmatism
Argentine politics often experiences cycles of intense confrontation followed by stages of pragmatism. Pichetto's gesture of visiting Cristina—and Moreno's idea of expanding the front even further—seem to anticipate this change in climate.
The message that is beginning to establish itself within Peronism could be summarized in a simple slogan: forgive each other first, to compete again later.
If this process succeeds, the movement could attempt something that until recently seemed improbable: to unite under one strategy leaders ranging from hardline Kirchnerism to conservative sectors of the political system.
A political experiment that, in hushed tones, some are already starting to call the “Brazilian dream” of Argentine Peronism.
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