Elections in La Pampa: Lousteau’s candidate beat Macri’s in the first stage of Ensemble pour lechange

(From Santa Rosa, La Pampa – Special Envoy). The national deputy and candidate of the UCR, Martin Berhongarayprevailed today in the non-compulsory open internship of La Pampa to its coalition partner Martin Maquieyra (PRO). With him 75 percent of scrutinized paintings, radicalism exceeded by 16% to PRO. Peronism did not participate in the primary since the governor Sergio Ziliotto agreed on a list of units.

This is the first election in the national electoral calendar, in which 15 provinces decided to split the election to break away from the national election. Berhongaray’s triumph generated an impact on the JxC national team.

The Pampean election nationalized in recent weeks and the main national opposition leaders marched through La Pampa to support their candidates.

The Pampean election had been nationalized in recent weeks, with the parade of leaders such as Mauricio Macri, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Patricia Bullrich and María Eugenia Vidal, who arrived in La Pampa to shore up the defeated Maquieyra. For radicalism Martin Lousteau, Gerardo Morales, Rodrigo De Loredo and Emiliano Yacobitti they did the same with the UCR candidate.

After knowing the results, Rodríguez Larreta praised Berhongaray on Twitter: “Congratulations to Martín Berhongaray for the election of JxC in La Pampa and to Martín Maquieyra who has demonstrated that with commitment and hard work the first step can be taken to build change.”

JxC goes through an internal bid to settle national and provincial candidacies. In turn, the PRO faces tensions between the difficult sector, referenced by Macri and Bullrich, and that led by Rodríguez Larreta. In any case, the PRO had lined up behind Maquieyra at La Pampa. Faced with the national election, radicalism intends to challenge the yellow party for spaces of power. In this axis, the victory of Berhongaray implies adding the first triumphal photo in the internal JxCfor the 2023 election album.

At 7:00 p.m., when the radicals were already tending to triumph over the PRO, Lousteau confirmed his trip to La Pampa. De Jujuy, the governor Morales -president of the national UCR-, indicated that he could not come and send on his behalf Willy Hoerth, his campaign manager. Morales is up for the presidential race. Lousteau wants to compete for the leadership of the city government. However, in his team they do not rule out running for president. Indications that the UCR is committed to showing political volume for internal negotiations with the PRO.

This afternoon, the province elected mayors and legislators from parties that failed to reach unity lists as gubernatorial candidates. The particularity of the Pampean electoral system has allowed a nimble review.

voted close to 10% of a register of 238,000 eligible voters. The UCR has established itself in cities like Sainte Rose, Eduardo Castex and other villages in the interior. Meanwhile, Maquieyra won in the north of the province and in some towns in the interior. Something that contributed in favor of radicalism was the strategy of having collection lists in the municipalities of various places. This tactic allowed him to push Berhongaray’s candidacy.

There are 165 educational institutions ready to vote. Most congregate in Santa Rosa and General Pico, towns that make up 70% of the provincial registry. However, due to the local electoral system, schools are split between those for “independent” voters and the rest, in which those affiliated with political parties pay.

According to figures from the Provincial Electoral Tribunal, of the total number of voters in the pampas, 222,160 are independent, 1,410 are affiliated with the Official Front Pampeana Justicialista and 14,662 are affiliated with the parties that make up JxC -the UCR and the PRO , mostly-.

The main gubernatorial candidates voted in the morning. At 10:30 a.m., Maquieyra did, at General Pico Normal School, his hometown. Meanwhile, Berhongaray voted at 11:10 a.m. at the provincial school in Santa Rosa. The radical arrived accompanied by his two children and his wife.

During the day, in the Santa Rosa PRO bunker on Pedro Luro Street, Maquieyra’s campaign teams met early to coordinate election monitoring and logistics. Also, national leaders such as Senator Alfredo De Angelis and former Mayor of San Miguel, Joaquín De La Torre joined the PRO. The latter, one of Patricia Bullrich’s pre-candidates for the post of governor of Buenos Aires. In turn, there was also a group of collaborators close to Rodríguez Larreta, who came to La Pampa to support the election.

Meanwhile, in the Radical Civic Union’s provincial committee on Pellegrini Street in the capital, co-religionists from the Berhongaray campaign team were working early. The candidate was tasked with visiting schools and towns surrounding Santa Rosa during the day. Meanwhile, Hipólito Altolaguirre, a provincial legislator and the UCR’s top parliamentary candidate, oversees the logistics of the election to the Radical seat.

News in development

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