On October 22, Argentina’s four major political forces competed in legislative elections. The race went largely as predicted, mirroring long-term trends for the nation’s principal political parties.

For President Macri’s Cambiemos, the election was occasion for the center-right party to take another victory lap, having already won handily in the recent August primaries. In fact, since its upset victory against the incumbent centrist candidate Daniel Scioli in the 2015 presidential race, Cambiemos has only grown stronger: the party that began by capitalizing on growing anti-Kirchner sentiment has evolved over the last two years — with great success — into a civilizational crusade against “populism.”

With an inner circle made up of CEOs and free-market zealots, the party is still an anomaly on the left-leaning Argentine political landscape. Its potential lies in capitalizing on that landscape’s institutional fragmentation. As old alliances crumble, Cambiemos can assimilate their orphaned parts to its ambitious new project. Having already absorbed Argentina’s oldest existing party — the centrist Unión Cívica Radical — Cambiemos threatens to do the same with its most historically significant: the Partido Justicialista (PJ).