Eduardo Duhalde officially launches presidential campaign

Former President Eduardo Duhalde officially launched his presidential campaign along with his running mate, Chubut Governor Mario Das Neves, and hoping to beat UCR candidate Ricardo Alfonsín in the race to become Fernández de Kirchner’s main opponent, which would secure him a place in the more than likely run off election scenario next October.

Over 700 people attended the rally at the Sheraton Hotel’s convention centre, in which the candidate for the Union Popular (UP) party criticized the National Government, blasted the La Cámpora political group, commented on the Schoklender scandal smearing the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization and even sent his “kind regards” to the other parties taking part in the presidential race. 

Regarding the Schoklender scandal, he said that “despite the many ombudsmen the government keeps sending to corporate boards around the country, they seem to have forgotten to send one to Meldorek,” he said, ironically.

The Meldorek construction company is owned on a 90 percent by former Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization’s attorney, Sergio Schoklender, even though he had previously denied any connection to it.

Present in the audience where his wife, Senator “Chiche” Duhalde, lawmaker and gubernatorial candidate for the Buenos Aires province Graciela Camaño, unionists Luis Barrionuevo, Jerónimo “Momo” Venegas and economist Martín Redrado. 

Duhalde’s running mate, Mario Das Neves, also blasted La Campora, even though he didn’t address the organization directly. “Back when I was young, I remember being part of a glorious Peronist Youth organization in which we didn’t fight for a seat in office,” he said.

“We fought for our dreams and to change reality. Sometimes we were wrong, but that was because we were young. We were never given a checkbook to manage as we saw fit,” he concluded.