PJ sweeps Santiago del Estero municipal elections as Milei's party fails to win any seats

The municipal elections held on 2 August in Santiago del Estero province resulted in a decisive victory for the provincial Partido Justicialista (PJ). The party captured the mayoralties of the three largest interior cities – Las Termas de Río Hondo, where Domingo Gatelló achieved a historic win returning the PJ to power after twenty years, Frías, where incumbent mayor Humberto Salim was re‑elected, and Añatuya, where Ernesto Julio Castro secured another term. These wins reinforce the PJ’s territorial strength across the province’s key urban centers.

The opposition coalition Frente Cívica por Santiago, led by Senator Gerardo Zamora, swept all 26 contested departments, obtaining about 66 % of the provincial vote. Mario Benavente was elected mayor of the provincial capital with 60.5 % of the vote, while La Libertad Avanza, the party of President Javier Milei, failed to win any municipality and garnered only 8 % of the total vote, with its best results being 4.5 % in Las Termas de Río Hondo and 12.3 % for candidate María Beatriz Yunes in the capital. Zamora said the result “reinforces the continuity of the provincial political project” and added “Santiago del Estero is not for sale, the homeland is not surrendered and the Malvinas are Argentine”.