Rise of the Argentine Empire

In the month leading up to the Blanca Port City Council election, Saint Herse also needed to engage in some simple campaigning, going through the motions and putting on a show, with the Radical Civic Union branch cooperating with his efforts.

Relying solely on the so-called populist approach and listening to opinions from later generations wasn't enough; he also needed sufficient money and influence. Now, he didn't lack a background, at least enough to bluff, and he had the money to make things happen. This was good news because, in a capitalist country, money could solve 99.99% of problems.

As a complete newcomer to the Argentine political ecosystem, implementing policies wasn't as simple as he imagined. He had to abide by the rules of the game, rather than trying to break these conventions from the outset.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of struggle. In a country like Argentina, with its imperfect system, politics holds the top position. Even the most powerful capital cannot compete with the state machine; capital will only attach itself to the state machine, making it serve capital.

This time, he was well-prepared and even brought in the Maria City campaign team to gain experience. The only difference was that the situation in Maria City wasn't as complicated.

The Radical Civic Union in Blanca Port was actually a small party, or rather, severely weakened, not the powerful force it once claimed to be. Under Perón's virtuous resurgence, or rather, a flash of brilliance, the Justicialist Party ruled one of the most important cities in the south.

The Justicialist Party still dominated the entire country. It could be said that the Radical Civic Union hadn't even managed to hold onto Eva Perón City (La Plata). Of course, securing a council seat in Blanca Port was still achievable, as the Radical Civic Union represented the interests of some capital.

This was the problem with being an opposition party. Argentina was currently a country dominated by a single party, completely different from the two-party system of the UK and the US. The Radical Civic Union's influence had declined significantly.

Currently, Blanca Port has five districts, each with approximately 20,000 people. Each district has 3 councilors, making a total of 16 councilors, plus a council speaker. Overall, it's quite well-organized, with participation in government affairs being quite impressive. This election involves half of the councilors, who are already too old and need fresh blood.

The Justicialist Party in the Blanca Port City Council holds 11 seats, the Radical Civic Union holds 2, the Republican Party holds 1, and the Socialist Party holds 1. Most of them come from local families who have joined the Justicialist Party to represent their voices. The Justicialist Party is also divided into several factions, making Blanca Port quite chaotic.

The so-called council elections are not that transparent, quite different from the elections of later generations, but they still have to put on a show. This aspect began in the late 19th century when the Argentine political landscape changed, formally establishing a capitalist system.

Saint Herse was running for an ordinary city councilor position. Ordinary councilors are also elected by popular vote, but the Municipal Legislative Council does not participate. As long as the citizens of Blanca Port vote for you, the City Council can directly proceed with the review process.

If the Radical Civic Union candidate doesn't have any major scandals (such as committing a crime), the Legislative Council won't bother you. The election is directly conducted by the citizens of Blanca Port, with approximately 30,000 eligible voters, accounting for just over one-third of all citizens.

Basically, as long as the person is nominated by a major party and doesn't have any other major issues, they can generally enter the council. After completing the basic procedures, they can become an ordinary councilor.

In the month before the City Council election, Saint Herse mainly planned to consolidate the Radical Civic Union first, and then slowly start making moves. The Radical Civic Union gave him considerable authority in this regard, directly handing over the branch to him, as a form of reciprocation.

The original intention of the Radical Civic Union was for Saint Herse to come to Blanca Port to gain experience, but he didn't think that way. He felt that he had to create his own world and expand the base.

The first thing Saint Herse's team did in Blanca Port was to help Old Li canvass votes in the Fifth District. The entire Fifth District was a newly established urban area of less than 10 years, with only about 10,000 people. It was the weakest district with the fewest people, but it was close to the sea and had good overall conditions, even suitable for developing a port.

The era when the Radical Civic Union had more than a dozen councilors during its peak had long passed. These families were all opportunists, joining whoever was the strongest.

Previously, Saint Herse had not held any public office or entered any Argentine government departments. Being a staff officer was a plus. His main educational experience was at the University of Buenos Aires, which was indeed a useful credential, along with a series of experiences in the Radical Civic Union's propaganda department, and Professor Pujins' recommendation. He was completely a brand new political newcomer.

To show a certain degree of maturity, Saint Herse started growing a beard in July, and the team also had two makeup artists and stylists to help him with simple grooming and clothing coordination. Combined with his naturally mature appearance, the whole package worked, making him look about thirty years old, with a good image.

Saint Herse was actually quite good at putting on a show. He rarely gave speeches, but it wasn't difficult for him.

Campaigning also required investing some real money, such as for advertising and some shady operations to buy votes.

In addition to financial and background competition, campaigning also involves intangible things like personal charisma. Most of the people on this team were quite good, enabling Saint Herse to avoid most pitfalls.

There was no need to worry too much about publicity. New Argentina Media had already established itself here at the end of last year. The 'New Argentina Daily' was already one of the top three newspapers in Blanca Port, sharing the advertising market with local newspapers, ensuring that Saint Herse's voice wouldn't be a problem.

September 1st,

Blanca Port Radical Civic Union Branch, a two-story wooden building.

The belated Saint Herse changed into the clothes prepared by the team and headed there with the driver.

"Hello, Mr. Thomas, I am Saint Herse from the Blanca Port Radical Civic Union."

Thomas Stephens, a 57-year-old man with a grizzled beard, was currently the head of the Radical Civic Union and also the person in charge. Next to him was Rost Kleiderman, 45 years old, also a councilor, but an inconspicuous fellow who looked quite low-key.

Saint Herse casually glanced at the building, which could be said to be quite run-down. The people from the Falcon Bureau had already thoroughly investigated it.

"Cohen, this is Stephens, also a city councilor."

Thomas introduced Stephens somewhat listlessly, clearly indicating that the two had an average relationship.

Rost, a 35-year-old graduate of the University of Manchester in England, once served as a councilor in Buenos Aires. Later, he was sidelined and assigned to the "bitterly cold land" of Bahía Blanca. He divorced last month and rarely appears at the council, essentially an invisible man. However, his ability to serve two terms as a councilor indicates he is a formidable figure. But as long as those in power continue to suppress him, it will be difficult for him to achieve anything. These details flashed through Saint-Hesse's mind as he recalled the Falcon Agency's information.

Saint-Hesse and Steve exchanged a brief handshake without much conversation.

The decision to take over the Radical Civic Union branch was also directed from above. Although Tomás retained his position, he was not allowed to become the party leader, and Saint-Hesse, a young man, was given the role instead.

Clearly, most people in the local branch were not convinced, but Saint-Hesse didn't mind.

Tomás gathered all the branch staff, which numbered only 14. The Radical Civic Union's decline into an opposition party led many local families to join the Justicialist Party, causing the local branch to weaken.

"Everyone, put down your work. This is Saint-Hesse Cohen, who will be the head of the Radical Civic Union branch in Bahía Blanca from now on."

The entire branch erupted in an uproar, clearly put off by this "slick and flashy" fellow.

"Hello everyone, I am Saint-Hesse Cohen. I look forward to working with you. This time, the Radical Civic Union sent me here…"

Saint-Hesse spoke eloquently for nearly an hour, fully demonstrating his ability to talk nonsense and clichés, surprising the two councilors beside him.

In fact, Tomás and Stephen were not councilors with real power. The political situation in Bahía Blanca was mostly controlled by the Justicialist Party and independents, who attacked each other while also cooperating.

After having a simple dinner with the entire Radical Civic Union branch, Saint-Hesse left. Although the Radical Civic Union was small, its overall spirit was quite good.

He acted like Arturo's junior, quickly becoming familiar with the staff of the Radical Civic Union, but this was far from enough.

To that end, he visited several heads of other coalition parties in his capacity as branch leader, using his abilities to win over some people. Most left feeling satisfied, these local power brokers.

The arrival of several of his company's subsidiaries stirred up the local four major families, especially when Plari International announced its intention to purchase stockpiled agricultural products at a high price, making Bahía Blanca lively.

As a rising star in the trading world, Plari International was already a golden brand, and Bahía Blanca was its home port.

Saint-Hesse attended several gatherings and reached agreements with two of the families.

For him, it didn't matter who he cooperated with, as long as he had the channels. Right now, Southeast Asia was short of grain, and Americans and British dominated the grain market there. Saint-Hesse's fleet could sell scarce goods through some secret channels.

This trade route brought him very generous profits.

He had already thrown out the bait, and the small pond of Bahía Blanca was beginning a new round of fluctuations.

The economic crisis had severely damaged these local families backed by British capital, causing them to bleed heavily. Their beef and mutton couldn't be sold, making them only slightly wealthier than ordinary farmers. Even their British masters were in crisis.

Yes, these four families had basically become rich by relying on British capital. Now the British were screwing over the Argentinians, and grain and beef couldn't be sold at a good price. Selling a ton even meant losing tens of dollars. Not selling meant losing storage and refrigeration fees every day. Fortunately, the arrival of winter had improved the situation a bit, but they were quickly becoming unsustainable.

But Saint-Hesse also had a cannery. Even if he couldn't sell the meat fresh, he could make canned meat and sell it to the Soviet Union, which would be good too.

They were just simple comprador families.

For the local families, Saint-Hesse was indeed a timely rain. Although these families had a lot of assets, selling them off in a desperate attempt to survive would definitely mean selling them cheaply. The big families in the province were even more ruthless than jackals.

Saint-Hesse simply didn't want to let them have their way, even if it meant offending some international capital. He didn't care, anyway, it was all about licking blood off the knife's edge.

......

After a series of operations, Saint-Hesse successfully became a popular candidate in the new Bahía Blanca councilor election. With the promotion of the New Argentina newspaper, Saint-Hesse's reputation quickly spread throughout Bahía Blanca.

"Hey, this new councilor seems pretty good. If we elect him, he promises to bring jobs."

"Probably lying. They've all been elected before without delivering."

"This one seems real. Look at this photo, several big company bosses have a very good personal relationship with him. They promise to open new factories and create a whole new market if he's elected."

"Maybe we can try it. This guy looks a lot better than those other people, and he's young and capable. He's also been a soldier and a staff officer, and he's highly educated. He graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. I think he's good."

"I'll listen to you. I'll vote for him when the time comes."

In addition, Saint-Hesse intentionally visited residents, giving some food and clothing to the citizens in the slums. Several company branch staff cooperated, while constantly amplifying the voice of the Radical Civic Union.

First, he donated a large amount of political funds, allowing the Bahía Blanca Radical Civic Union to obtain funds and move to an 8-story building. Then, he recruited more Radical Civic Union members, promising to build more schools and the like.

The election campaign finally kicked off, and the citizens, who had never seen such a spectacle, mostly voted for this newcomer.

Saint-Hesse organized and planned a campaign speech that was very effective. The speech was carefully polished and published in major newspapers.

If it weren't for his lack of experience, Saint-Hesse suspected that he could directly run for mayor or speaker of the council.

On October 3, when the votes were counted, Saint-Hesse's vote rate was very high, taking 60% of the votes in this district. Now everyone in Bahía Blanca knew this candidate for councilor.

Without much surprise, Saint-Hesse was successfully elected as a city councilor in Bahía Blanca.

Then came the meetings and handovers. The speaker of the city hall called all the councilors to a city council meeting and held a meeting. Saint-Hesse also gave a brief statement of his duties.

It must be said that the Bahía Blanca council did have a bit of a lifeless atmosphere, similar to the town of Santa María back then. You could almost smell the despair in the air.

As a port city, the scale of import and export trade had shrunk again and again, and even the salaries of many councilors and government employees had begun to be cut.

Saint-Hesse's expression didn't change much, and he quietly listened to the entire changeover meeting.

The Radical Civic Union still had 2 councilors, the Justicialist Party took 8, and the Republican Party took 2. Obviously, the Republican Party's Radical Labor Union Reform Act had also won some popular support and was very marketable in times of social unrest.

After the meeting, Saint-Hesse was one of the last to walk out of the city council hall, and Saint-Hesse's security guards quickly followed.

"Hello, Honorable Councilor, may I bother you for a moment?"

A person dressed as a reporter walked out of the roadside very abruptly and blocked Saint-Hesse's path.

The security guards next to him were about to scold him, but Saint-Hesse stopped them.