Argentina's president reshuffles cabinet after political crisis

[peppertree]

Argentina's president Alberto Fernández announced a new cabinet on Friday in a bid to smother a political crisis that pitted him bitterly against his vice president this week after an electoral defeat in legislative primaries.

The reshuffle came one day after Vice President Cristina Kirchner wrote Fernández to demand one, deepening the crisis gripping the ruling coalition after their poor showing in mid-term primaries - in which the Front for All trailed the right-wing Together alliance by 9%.

Juan Manzur, the pragmatic Governor of Tucumán Province, will take over as Chief of Staff from Santiago Cafiero - who will in turn become Foreign Minister.

Outgoing Foreign Minister Felipe Solá, in Mexico for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit, was unceremoniously dropped ahead of the event, which begins on Saturday.

Four other ministers (out of 20) as well as the presidential spokesman, were also replaced - though Economy Minister Martín Guzmán and Production Minister Matías Kulfas were confirmed.

Due to the crisis, Fernández canceled his visit to Mexico for the CELAC summit and won't attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.

At: https://www.wionews.com/world/argentinas-president-reshuffles-cabinet-after-political-crisis-413962

Argentine President Alberto Fernández walks in the Casa Rosada after a difficult week precipitated by last Sunday's unexpected loss in congressional mid-term primaries to the right-wing opposition.

Fernández's allies, who attribute the setback to lower turnout from the Peronists' working class base, agree that his center-left coalition doesn't need a cabinet reshuffle as much as a policy one.

Fernández is expected to announce a more vigorous social and labor policy in the coming days - including a possible return of Emergency Family Income payments, which helped mitigate the effects of the 2020 lockdown on the poor.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Had been reading people were anticipating President Fernndez' trip to Mexicofor days earlier.

Of course the right-wing is trying to create chaos since they despise President Fernández' progressive ideas and plans and hope to get rid of him as soon as possible to get back to the fascist way of taking care of the wealthy as soon as possible.

Very best wishes to the elected President, and highest disrespect for the dictatorship-supporting oligarchs who still intend to retake the country, and the very worst luck to the fascist white-washing media machine which covered up and ignored the grotesque tortures, night-marish death flights over the Atlantic to throw dissenters into the ocean, and the murdered and missing 30,000 real or suspected dissenters who lost their lives altogether. All those victims have loved ones whose lives have been destroyed, too.

Time WILL destroy fascism, it's too evil to last forever. What a shame so many good people have been hurt already. No doubt fascism is in its death throes world-wide, suspecting their end is near, and that's why they are so desperate.

That's why people like President Alberto Fernández are such heroes now. They are facing monumental challanges created by frantic fanatics.