Kicillof Puts Argentina’s Sovereignty at Rally

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof said Peronism would return to power in Argentina, placing national sovereignty at the heart of his call to rebuild the movement and challenge President Javier Milei’s government. Speaking at a large gathering in La Matanza on Saturday, October 17, 2026, he urged supporters to form a political alternative before next year’s elections.

Kicillof accused Milei’s government of close alignment with Washington and said Argentina shouldn’t 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.

A challenge to the government

Kicillof described the government as a “powerful adversary, with international resources,” and said it wanted to establish “a return to absolute dependence in Argentina.” He urged Peronists to direct their efforts against the administration, not one another, invoking what he called one of Peronism’s 20 truths: “the adversary is over there; they are the ones we must fight.”

The governor called on the movement to reorganise and build an alternative that could represent its supporters. “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,” he said.

Kicillof hasn’t formally entered next year’s election race, though many strongly tip him to become the nominee of the Partido Justicialista (Justicialist Party, PJ), the movement’s main party. He pledged to travel across the country and take on the responsibilities needed 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.

Separate rallies, shared movement

National deputy Máximo Kirchner attended a separate rally in Resistencia, the capital of Chaco Province, alongside former governor and current senator Jorge Capitanich. Kirchner, the La Cámpora leader and son of ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, criticised political figures who promise to fight but retreat when difficulties arise.

“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,” he said. Kirchner argued that unity alone wouldn’t rebuild the opposition; he called instead for activists to organise locally. “We must go door to door and go out and fight to put Argentina back on its feet,” he said.

Both speakers referred to Fernández de Kirchner, who is serving a corruption conviction under house arrest. Máximo Kirchner said her political support was growing because Argentines remembered her record and saw her as a strong woman who wouldn’t abandon supporters, even when imprisoned. Kicillof said, “Today, Cristina is unjustly imprisoned for defending our causes,” expressing support for the former head of state.

The Loyalty Day commemoration

Loyalty Day commemorates the mass mobilisation of October 17, 1945. That mobilisation secured Perón’s release from detention and became a foundational moment in Peronist history. The rallies took place 81 years after it.

Supporters were expected to gather later outside the San José 1111 apartment building in Buenos Aires, where Fernández de Kirchner is serving her sentence. They hoped she’d appear on her balcony to greet them. The separate events put Kicillof’s call for a national political alternative alongside Kirchner’s appeal for grassroots organisation, as Peronist leaders addressed the movement’s direction ahead of next year’s elections.