Durán Barba's team: who are they and how are the Ecuadorian guru's main partners working?

Santiago Nieto, Roberto Zapata and Gandhi Espinosa are figures so little known as determining the definition of the campaign of proselytizing Cambiemos; his connection with Macri, his specific roles and links with Vidal and Larreta

Santiago Nieto and Roberto Zapata are the pillars of the research team of

Jaime Durán Barba

, the main electoral strategist of Mauricio Macri. They share a low profile and play different roles in the task of advising the Pro manager. Their contributions are "very appreciated" within the official distribution.

Nieto and Zapata have been accompanying the "guru" and founder of the Confidential Report consulting firm in Ecuador for more than three decades. The local branch of the company is in the hands of Ecuadorian Gandhi Espinosa Tinajero, who worked as an adviser in the province of Buenos Aires during the 2017 legislature.

The tracks of Durán Barba regularly meet senior officials and prepare potential candidates. The findings of their public opinion studies outline the strategy for

change

.

Grandson, right hand

Macri was honest in front of his guests during a lunch: "The whole country said that I had to agree with Sergio Mbada in 2015. And I won because I heard these two Ecuadorians who are crazy, "said the president while watching Durán Barba and his partner

Nieto is the right arm of the Ecuadorian adviser. A political consultant and lecturer at George Washington University, he worked alongside Durán Barba in the various campaigns of Pro's leader and also advised Francisco de Narváez when he defeated the Kirchner in 2009, as well as several Latin American leaders , like the Brazilian Navy. Silva.

Durán Barba's number two is defined as "an investigator". In Pro, they present him as a "rigorous" advisor who manages the number of investigations. In the interviews, he shows the "strategic data" that emerge from the studies. They badure that, unlike their boss, he has achieved a good harmony with

Elisa Carrió

during the campaign in the capital. "Santiago serves Jaime to test his hypothesis," says a leader who witnessed the tandem's work.

In 2017, Pro cleared for the first time the salaries of its strategists for the campaign:
They charged 80,000 pesos each.

Roberto Zapata, the doc

The Spanish sociologist Roberto Zapata is the most respected member of the team. He lives abroad and his interventions are more sporadic at the peaks of Macrista.

Zapata, who studied at the Complutense University of Madrid and worked in the religious magazine
New life, deals with
discussion groups. Some are surprised by the respect their partners have for him. They say Durán Barba and Nieto do not interrupt Doc's exhibitions, as they call the "political psychologist".

He usually appears during the campaign period and his studies are "much awaited" at Casa Rosada. "He just punctually looks at the trends that Jaime and Santiago are asking for," said one of the bishops of party communication. In Pro's election lab, they admire Zapata's clarity in translating the results of his investigations. Your contribution is "fundamental" to define the profile of the voter. This is how the "new voter" thinks, his interests and needs. "He anticipates trends because he's badyzing the underlying phenomena, it's a pleasure to listen to them," said a manager, fascinated by his work.

After doing a
to concentrate In the middle of last year, Zapata said that citizens had the impression of "walking alone in the desert" without the company of rulers. Shortly after, the government reactivated the stamp to show its "closeness". It appears from an exercise in the Doc that voters identified Macri as "a lion or a dog" and Daniel Scioli with a "rabbit".

In macrismo, they value their commitment, their warmth and their objectivity to give their opinion. "He does not have the prejudices of the" red circle "because he lives abroad," they say.

Gandhi, the young bishop of the guru

Ecuadorian Gandhi Espinosa Tinajero, 40, represents the "new generation" of the "guru" group. Former Secretary of Communications of the Municipality of Quito, debuted a month ago as a columnist in the magazine
news and taught at the Catholic University.

Gandhi is also dedicated to collecting public opinion data and studying voter behavior. He is "the most active" of Durán Barba's tracks and generally stays longer in the Balcarce 412 blockhouse. During the 2017 elections, he concentrated his consulting duties in the province of Buenos Aires.

Espinosa has "a lot of work". He is director of the confidential report of Argentina, the local paw of the consultant, and conducts investigations for the public and private sectors. Since 2016, he is president of Inversora Boroca, a survey company that provides services to the nation, city and province. Between 2016 and June 2017, about 7 million euros were collected from the Vidal government, according to the portal.
Infobae. Refused to answer
THE NATION, chose not to comment.