María Julieta Mestral Asensio, the newly elected deputy for Mendoza province, has sworn to honor her commitment with work, honesty, and love for her country, defending the ideas of freedom and the values chosen by thousands of Argentines. She is part of Mendoza's delegation to Congress, which is completed by five deputies who will continue in their positions, as their mandates began in 2023.
Prior to her political career, Mestral Asensio's professional background was quite reserved. Her academic background, which bridges law and economics, explains her approach based on reducing state intervention and promoting free enterprise—pillars of the political space she represents. Since her candidacy, Mestral Asensio has maintained a moderately active profile on social media like X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, sharing political, economic, and current content in line with the slogans of La Libertad Avanza (LLA), defending pro-market and anti-establishment positions.
Her entry into the National Legislature is considered one of the surprises of the last elections, when she won the seat as the fourth candidate on the aforementioned coalition's list. In her few public statements, the new LLA deputy has been consistent. She stated, "Proud to be part of the Congress that will carry out the reforms Argentina needs to continue on the path of growth driven by our President @javiermilei."
She has shown firmness in defending the principles of La Libertad Avanza, orienting her speeches towards the need for a "deep fiscal adjustment, economic deregulation, and the fight against the political caste." Those who know her say that in her interventions, she usually uses technical and solid terminology to justify the reforms proposed by President Milei.
In Congress, Mendoza will be represented not only by Mestral Asensio but also by other deputies. Among the central topics to be debated in the National Congress are the Law of National Commitment for Fiscal and Monetary Stability, the Law of Labor Modernization (which promotes a reform of the labor sphere), the Reform of the Criminal Code, the Law for the adaptation of the Minimum Budgets Regime for the Preservation of Glaciers and Periglacial Environment (Law 26.639), and the Law of Fiscal Innocence.
All these projects constitute a package of initiatives that seek to modify structural aspects of the economy, public finances, and the country's regulatory framework. The young Mestral Asensio (36 years old) is a lawyer and holds a master's in Law and Economics, which highlights her training in issues central to the new government's agenda.
Her formal assumption of office is today, December 10. Since being elected on October 26 by the electoral alliance La Libertad Avanza-Cambia Mendoza, the elected deputy has begun working with the officialist bloc and has walked the historic stretch of Avenida de Mayo that separates the Congress from the Casa Rosada numerous times, with many challenges, files, and officialist projects to push.
Her immediate legislative agenda will be marked by the projects that obsess Milei's administration and will be pushed in extraordinary sessions. This will be the first major challenge for a bolstered Milei in the new Congress. The so-called "labor reform" is likely the one that generates the most expectations among employers and workers. Its draft includes extending the trial period to six months, implementing a severance pay system based on a labor termination fund similar to the construction industry to reduce litigation, and modifying several points of the Labor Contract Law to flexibilize the labor market.
