Front for Victory
In April 2009, Espínola announced he was a candidate for the office of Mayor of Corrientes, on the ticket of Fabián Ríos, Front for Victory candidate for Governor of Corrientes Province. He was elected as mayor of his native city on September 13, and on December 10 he took office. He is a member of the Justicialist Party (Peronist) and of the Front for Victory (Kirchnerist), the Peronist faction and alliance led by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Espínola was nominated as the Front for Victory candidate for governor ahead of the September 2013 elections in Corrientes. He was defeated by incumbent Governor Ricardo Colombi of the centrist UCR, however, by a 51-to-46% margin; Espínola was succeeded as mayor by fellow Front for Victory lawmaker Fabián Ríos.