Peronism loses grip of provincial stronghold after shocking political murder in Argentina

Argentina’s regional election season produced a surprise yesterday as the ruling Peronist coalition suffered an unexpected defeat in the province of Chaco, one of its many strongholds in the country’s north. The setback comes less than two months before the decisive August 13 presidential primaries.

Argentina’s “simultaneous open and compulsory primaries,” known as PASO, are often the best predictor of the final election results two months later — and the results in Chaco suggest that the struggling Peronist government could lose another province in the run-up to the national vote.

Governor Jorge Capitanich received only 36.5 percent of ballots, 6 percentage points less than the combined total of center-right coalition candidates Leandro Zdero (23.1 percent) and Juan Carlos Polini (19.6 percent), whose combined total was 42.7 percent. 

Having won his coalition’s primary vote, Mr. Zdero will face Mr. Capitanich on September 17.

The surprise was largely explained by the shock the province has experienced over the past two weeks, following the disappearance of 28-year-old Cecilia Strzyzowski, who was allegedly killed and dismembered by members of a powerful local family.

Ms. Strzyzowski was last seen entering the home of Emerenciano Sena, an influential social leader with ties to the local Peronist party. She was briefly married to Mr. Sena’s son, a 19-year-old man, but the family disapproved of the relationship and feared it would lead to economic disputes. 

The victim stopped responding to texts that night, while the Sena family was caught in multiple lies about her whereabouts in the days that followed. Blood was also found in Mr. Sena’s home, while the victim’s mother told reporters that she believed her daughter may have been killed and “dismembered.”

She based her comments on the fact that the Sena family had boasted of their ability to easily “disappear” a body if necessary, as well as the fact that they run a slaughterhouse. While the case appears to be close to being solved, with several arrests and search warrants confirming parts of the story, Ms. Strzyzowski’s body is still missing. 

The gruesome story dominated the provincial and national agenda in the run-up to the vote, leading to a massive swing in an area where Peronism had won the last four gubernatorial elections.

While Peronism has so far shown some resilience in other northern strongholds, it is already seen as an underdog in the presidential race, and cannot afford to lose any of its traditional base.

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