La Libertad Avanza already has a confirmed candidate in Misiones to stop Hugo Passalacqua's reelection

Adrián Núñez announced his candidacy for governor of Misiones for La Libertad Avanza in the 2027 elections. Adrián Núñez, provincial president of La Libertad Avanza (LLA), announced that he will fight for the governorship of Misiones in 2027. "I want to change the history of my province after more than 20 years of the same old faces," he said. Núñez, who also won a seat in Misiones' unicameral Legislature in 2025, will face the aspirations of the current governor, Hugo Passalacqua, to secure re-election. In 2027, it will be the first time this century that the ruling party does not compete under the name Frente Renovador de la Concordia (FRC). The coalition fractured mid-year. Passalacqua and Carlos Rovira, who was the strongman of the FRC, broke off relations. The governor retained the bulk of the structure. But the faction that was left out could jeopardize his re-election. Last year, the FRC lost the national legislative elections to LLA. And it achieved a hard-fought victory in the provincial elections. Given the current fragmentation, the libertarians' chances are growing. It is also almost a given that Misiones will vote separately from the national elections. When announcing his intentions, Núñez stated: "We come from two decades of quasi-Rovirist monarchy and an anti-business policy that has left us where we are." Along the same lines, he criticized the economic isolation of the province. "There are provinces like Misiones that have closed themselves off, creating a political system and an economic system that do not favor the development of the private sector," he assessed. Núñez arranged with authorities of the Inter-American Development Bank a technical assistance plan aimed at small yerba mate producers. He then recounted: "There is a very strong desire for change in Misiones. Here it depends on it taking shape and on people seeing an alternative. If that happens, change will come inevitably." "As President Javier Milei says: we are decent people, we are on the side of the right ideas, but we have a great challenge ahead of us," he emphasized. Núñez has hosted Karina Milei, president of LLA, and Martín Menem, vice president of the party, on several occasions. He managed to launch a school for leaders in order to train cadres that will allow him to face next year's elections, a potential provincial government, and, at the same time, the management of some municipalities that aspire to be painted purple. "What characterizes La Libertad Avanza Misiones is that we work as a team, side by side. That is how we built this," he highlighted. In the same vein, he maintained that LLA managed to "set the agenda because we did a lot of work and made many sacrifices. We presented 120 bills before parliamentary activity even began. We did it among four deputies," he emphasized. He then noted that this work also includes "the effort of people who joined. We don't make the bills by ourselves without sitting down to study them. There are lawyers, accountants, and doctors. There are also educators and security specialists who join on a voluntary basis," he explained. The libertarian bloc seeks to capitalize on its electoral victory in the national legislative elections in the face of a likely separate provincial election. For months, Núñez has been carrying out a schedule of activities that resemble those of a sitting governor more than those of a candidate for the office. Last week, for example, he completed an official agenda in Washington D.C. aimed at consolidating Misiones' global integration, strengthening democratic institutions, and promoting local productive development. Bruce Friedman, director of the Southern Cone Department of the U.S. Department of State, received him in the American capital. During the meeting, Misiones' geopolitical role and the region's strategic challenges were discussed. Among those points, superintelligence — as Donald Trump calls AI — was discussed. Also port development, strengthening the Hidrovía waterway, and the fight against drug trafficking and security in the Triple Frontier. Both agreed that all development projects must be accompanied by care for and respect for local biodiversity. He was also at the OAS (Organization of American States). There he presented a formal document requesting that the organization study and issue an opinion on the Ley de Lemas system in Misiones. This electoral system governs the election of mayors in the "land of red earth." The governorship is decided by simple plurality of votes. LLA Misiones presented a legislative proposal to eliminate that system and introduce the single ballot. The presentation was made together with Ambassador Carlos Cherniak before the Secretariat for Strengthening of Democracy of the OAS, represented by María T. Mellenkamp, head of the Department of Democratic Sustainability, and Moisés Benamor, head of the Department of Legislative Support. Finally, Núñez held a meeting with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The objective was to outline a development program aimed at small producers in Misiones' yerba mate sector. The meeting was held with Pablo García, senior advisor of the Productivity, Trade and Innovation Sector (PTI), and Paolo De Salvo, chief of the Agriculture and Rural Development Division (ARD). With them he discussed the implementation of technical cooperation to provide tools, developments, and programs aimed at strengthening local agriculture, particularly yerba mate. In addition, the incorporation of technological tools that the IDB already promotes in other Latin American countries was evaluated, with the aim of replicating them in Misiones.