‘Peronism will return to power in Argentina,’ declares Kicillof at loyalty day rally

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof vowed that Peronism would return to power in Argentina as rival factions of the opposition movement held separate rallies on Saturday to mark Peronist Loyalty Day.

Kicillof addressed a large gathering in La Matanza and called for the movement to reorganise and build a political alternative to President Javier Milei's government ahead of next year's elections.

“Peronism will govern Argentina again,” he declared, pledging to travel the country and assume whatever responsibilities were required to rebuild the movement.

“I have said it before and I say it today: count on me to put myself on the line, to travel the country and to assume the responsibilities that this moment in the country's history demands,” he said.

The 55-year-old has yet to formally throw hit hat into the ring ahead of next year’s election, though he is strongly tipped to be the nominee of the Partido Justicialista (Justicialist Party, PJ), the movement’s main party.

“Peronism faces no challenge that is too great for it. Peronism will govern Argentina again: our task is to build an alternative, represent our people and recover Argentina for Argentines,” said Kicillof.

The governor urged supporters to focus on Milei's government rather than internal disputes. 

“We have a powerful adversary, with international resources, who wants to establish a return to absolute dependence in Argentina. Faced with that, I have come to recall one of Peronism's 20 truths: the adversary is over there; they are the ones we must fight,” he said.

Kicillof criticised the Milei administration’s close alignment with Washington, arguing that Argentina should not take orders from another country.

“Argentina cannot receive orders from another country: we cannot have someone who is not a president but a gofer running errands for the president of the United States,” he said, referring to Milei's relationship with US President Donald Trump.

Underlining the lack of unity in the movement, national deputy Máximo Kirchner attended a separate rally in Resistencia, the capital of Chaco Province, alongside former governor and current senator Jorge Capitanich.

The La Cámpora leader used the occasion to criticise other politicians who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk – an apparent reference to internal divisions.

“There are many who like to grab the microphone and climb onto platforms to deliver nice speeches and promise a fight, only to run away at the first sign of trouble,” said Kirchner, the son of ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

The lawmaker argued that unity alone would not be enough to rebuild the opposition, calling instead for activists to mobilise at grassroots level.

“We must go door to door and go out and fight to put Argentina back on its feet,” said Kirchner, urging the movement to break with complacent leadership.

Fernández de Kirchner, who is currently jailed under house arrest as she serves a corruption conviction, was cited by both leaders in their respective speeches.

Máximo Kirchner argued that her political support was growing because Argentines remembered her record and saw her as a strong woman who would not abandon her supporters, even when imprisoned.

Kicillof also referred to Fernández de Kirchner’s legal woes. “Today, Cristina is unjustly imprisoned for defending our causes,” he said, expressing support for the former head of state.

The rallies took place on Loyalty Day, an annual commemoration of the mass mobilisation of October 17, 1945, which secured Perón's release from detention and became a foundational moment in Peronist history.

Supporters were expected to gather later outside the San José 1111 apartment building in Buenos Aires, where Fernandez de Kirchner is serving her sentence, with hopes that she would appear on her balcony to greet them.