:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/KXSBWPN4O5CH7KZ43YKH3I2KAQ.jpg "We must reconfigure radicalism, do things differently")
The radical Marcos Ferrer (41) was re-elected mayor of Río Tercero in the municipal elections last Sunday, for Together for Change. It is the seventh city in population in the province and the largest that the UCR put into play this year, which has governed it for 20 years.
Ferrer prevailed with 48.3%, with an advantage of 21 points over the second, Nicolás Rodríguez, from the recently created local Nuevas Ideas party. Third force was, as in the previous four local elections, Peronism.
More news from Río Tercero and Almafuerte
The triumph positions him as a referent of radicalism beyond the limits of the city: the provincial projection is inevitable.
Within his party, he remains aligned with Rodrigo de Loredo’s sector in the Cordovan UCR and Martin Lousteau’s on the national stage. In the recent national internship, Ferrer opted for Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, but now he emphasizes his support for Patricia Bullrich.
After the election and the celebration, Ferrer spoke with La Voz.
– To what do you award the municipal triumph and for such a difference?
-Fundamentally management. When you’re up for re-election, the reason people elect you is because of what we’ve done. There is a ratification of the course of the city, of the management. Surely with things to correct, that’s why I think we have to make a general balance when we are coming to the end of these four years. There is always room for improvement. We have to go, for example, towards the possibility of specifying a housing plan; that is a challenge for what is coming. But for that we need economic stability in the country, otherwise it is very difficult. Afterwards, renew the government team. There will be changes. I’m looking at trimming the cabinet, but I haven’t defined how yet. We will do what is necessary in the context that is coming, which is uncertain, with a view to 2024.
Marcos Ferrer (José Gabriel Hernandez)
-He was campaign manager for Luis Juez for the governorship and Rodrigo de Loredo for the Capital, and both lost. Is the local triumph some kind of revenge?
-No. For it to be a rematch it has to be of the same magnitude, a provincial election is not the same as that of the city.
-But the UCR and Together for Change in Córdoba celebrated the result in Río Tercero as a relief…
-In the context in which we were, it is an important victory because somehow there was a feeling that it is difficult for us to win this year and above all that it is easy for the others to win. This knocks that down a bit. It is not that we are going to win or lose by the will of another, but it depends a lot on us. Together for Change must move towards more collective processes, where everyone feels part, where everyone is contained, where it does not happen that some feel represented and others do not when putting together a political project. In 2021, with De Loredo and Juez, we achieved that in the campaign of national deputies and senators, which we won resoundingly. We could not achieve it in 2023, but hey, in the end it was a more even election than the gubernatorial elections had been. Later, in the city of Córdoba there was an assessment of the management of Martín Llaryora. Just like there was now with me in Río Tercero.
Marcos Ferrer with Martín Lousteau and Rodrigo de Loredo, his references in the national and Cordovan UCR. (The voice)
-How do you see the scenario of Together for Change for what follows, now being more of a provincial reference in space than until days ago?
-There are multiple factors. We have not been able to build collective processes where we do not go in search of a messianic leadership, but where we all sit at a round table and we all take part in the discussion, we all take part. Many heads think more than one. Afterwards, I think there are successes on the other side as well. We cannot attribute everything to our mistakes. There are also successes of the others. It is not by chance that they have governed the province of Córdoba for 24 years. You have to have an act of humility in front of that because it is very common to fall into the easy way of saying that everything else is bad; that is not a good diagnosis to build something better. If you start from the fact that the other is bad and yours is good, it does not allow you to build an overcoming political project. You have to do self-criticism. It was my turn in 2019 to win an election in a tight way. That made me know that the way of governing was exhausted and that I had to change and build another type of consensus. My first government action was to summon all the opposition candidates to a table. We must reconfigure radicalism, do things in a different way.
-Together for Change do you have a chance of winning the presidential election? How do you read the electoral impact of Milei, who won in Río Tercero weeks before you also won?
-Together for Change has more territorial deployment than Milei’s party. I think we have to do a job of teaching so that people understand why we are the best option to govern the country. I don’t mean it will be easy. We are facing a different phenomenon from politics as Milei is, disruptive and communicationally successful, for which his message reaches. We have to fight in that same trench, interpreting well what the people are asking for, looking for the channels to reach sectors of populations that we are not able to reach with the message. It is not that our message is not better. We will have to find a way. At the time, the irruption of the PRO in politics modernized the ways of doing politics. With Milei the same thing is happening today. He’s a screwy turn to politics, he’s found ways to impose his game. And he has managed to install agenda. Lately in Argentina the only thing that has been discussed is the agenda that he imposes. We have to get out of that trap to be able to talk about the important agenda of the Argentines. There are minor issues that he installs and we stop discussing what is truly important, the deep problems of the country. To do that, you have to have deep convictions and say where we want to go. That is the most important task of Together for Change, to be clear about the north, not to talk so much about people, personalities, but about the ideas to bring to the government.
-How is the relationship with the governor-elect Martín Llaryora?
-The governance relationship between the two will be very good. I will work well with the governor to bring solutions to Río Tercero. Like we did with Schiaretti. I would also do it as mayor whoever wins at the national level.
-Why did De la Sota and Schiaretti always win in Río Tercero but for the municipality the UCR prevails?
-People vote for governor for one and for mayor by proximity or for other types of issues. There will also be organizational issues that don’t work well. Peronism had three consecutive governments at the municipal level at the time; three consecutive terms is not good, there was a great wear and tear. Later, when radicalism began to govern, it knew how to do it well and that gave it continuity for a long time. That is always subject to review: when the public feels they have to change, they change.