Interior minister hints at presidential run

Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro posted a video to social media – but didn’t confirm his bid

Eduardo "Wado" de Pedro addresses oil executives in May 2023. Source: Télam

Interior Minister Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro last night posted a video to social media that was widely interpreted as a sign that he will run for the presidency on behalf of ruling coalition Frente de Todos in this year’s elections.

De Pedro posted the 47-second video just hours after Vice President Cristina Kirchner addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters in Plaza de Mayo. The minister was among the officialist leaders on stage behind Kirchner during her hour-long speech, standing next to Economy Minister Sergio Massa. “We have the responsibility to build an Argentina that works,” he tweeted.

Against a backdrop of shots of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s countryside, and people at their places of work, it features a recording of former President Néstor Kirchner saying “I’m part of a decimated generation, punished by painful absences.” Immediately afterwards, Cristina Kirchner’s voice is heard saying “What do I expect? Well, that it’s the children of that decimated generation who step up to the breach.”

The video ends with the narrator saying “This is just getting started,” followed by shots of De Pedro and the Argentine flag. Neither the video nor the text accompanying it explicitly state that De Pedro will run for the top job.

To reach the presidency, De Pedro would first need to stand in presidential primaries on August 13, either against his fellow presidential hopefuls from within his coalition, or as a sole candidate, if the Frente de Todos decides not to field multiple primary candidates. 

The “decimated generation” is a poignant phrase used in Argentina to refer to those who were in the prime of their lives during the last civic-military dictatorship, from 1976-1983, and participated in the resistance against its brutality. It is estimated that 30,000 people were killed or forcibly disappeared by the state terrorism of this period.

During the dictatorship, De Pedro was kidnapped as a baby by military forces in an operation in which his mother was murdered. Three months after his abduction, the military returned him to his family. 

You might also be interested in: We need agreements that enable a more integrated nation, by Wado de Pedro

While several Frente de Todos members, including De Pedro, Argentine ambassador to Brazil Daniel Scioli and Chief of Staff Agustín Rossi, have indicated that they are interested in running, none of them have formally announced their candidacies to date. The deadline for presenting presidential tickets on June 24.

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