Fearless of Karinismo: Bullrich's Plan to Resist and Maintain Power in Permanent Campaign

Patricia Bullrich is not worried. In private, she recalls that for years they have tried to push her out of the political spotlight she occupies, so the Karinista attempt to remove her from that space of power is not, for her, a new difficulty. Therefore, she is not afraid. She sees herself as a leader with the ability to build, even from less prominent positions; without executive management responsibility but with the enormous possibility of showing parliamentary results and consolidating herself from there.

The current senator has always made her profile clear. In her latest book, Guerra sin Cuartel, she already described herself as a person accustomed “to the fight” — which is why, according to her, Mauricio Macri chose her to combat drug trafficking during the Cambiemos administration — as a leader used “to working from the ground up” and as someone who makes decisions, likes competition, and accepts responsibilities without safety nets. A person who is willing to do anything, without fear.

Bullrich believes in permanent campaigning. She wants to be present all the time, to be a topic of conversation. Therefore, it is not about an early electoral race but about the need to stay in the public conversation. Not being at the head of a ministry and having been relegated to legislative work, tours, social media, comments with different interpretations, and interviews are her best way to remain relevant.

Every Monday, her team meets to set the next objectives and analyze pieces that could be functional to that logic. Now, with the World Cup, everything is calmer, but she adopted a superstition: after each Argentine victory, she posts a photo on social media. The last one coincided with the resignation of Manuel Adorni, and she called for celebration. The senator had no appreciation for the former Chief of Cabinet, whom she accused of having worked against her all summer.

In that vein, she plans to hold an event in the City alongside Pilar Ramírez on July 12. It will be a meeting with a women’s NGO that does social work. The senator wants to help promote the legislator so that, initially, she can be the violet candidate in CABA. She thinks, with the Adorni scandal, that her chances of securing a spot on a national ballot have improved.

These weeks, Bullrich’s central activity will be in the Senate, where she has several challenges ahead. For her, the priority has always been to pass laws, but the Adorni scandal had bogged down the scenario. Now, the intention was to hold a session this week, but several legislators would not be present, so it was postponed to next week. There, the leader intends to move forward with the delayed debate on the Inviolability of Private Property bill. She also hopes to pass Hojarasca, judicial and Foreign Ministry appointments, as well as international treaties.

After that discussion, her goal is to advance with other projects that still lack a committee opinion. This list includes the Super RIGI, recently approved in the Chamber of Deputies; the repeal of the Front Labeling Law; and a Mental Health bill. The Electoral Reform, still green, is being discussed with allies.

However, the internal climate is tense. A violet legislator confided in private last week that “everything is wrong” with Bullrich. That was when the block leader chose to cancel Thursday’s session, just as the opposition was moving to take action against Adorni. Another senator stated that they are “all in favor of the President and supporting the decisions he makes.”

The Secretary General of the Presidency seeks to intervene directly in those discussions and has already infiltrated the senators’ WhatsApp group. The libertarian legislator who aims to downplay that action again emphasized in response to the query that “everyone, including Patricia, is on the same page and we all answer to Karina and the President.”

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