The federal deputy Esteban Paulón rejected the partial sanction that the Chamber of Deputies granted for the suspension of the Primaries, Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory Elections (PASO) and justified his vote by stating that 'it is not very healthy democratically.' He expressed support for renewing the Constitution of Santa Fe, arguing that the province has not implemented changes since 1960.
Paulón questioned that without the PASO, political leaders will have greater control over defining the lists and emphasized the importance of discussing this issue in a calm and medium-term environment, to avoid changing the rules during an electoral year. He explained that the Encuentro Federal bloc decided to vote against the suspension of the PASO due to the complexity of making modifications to the electoral regime in an electoral year, when election schedules have already started and some provinces, like Santa Fe, are already registering candidate lists.
The legislator denounced that the suspension of the PASO responds to a short-term interest from the Government, coinciding with Kirchnerism, and pointed out that it is not healthy democratically to modify the voting system. Regarding proposals for electoral reforms, he defended the operation of provincial elections every four years in Santa Fe, highlighting the stability that this system offers.
Concerning primaries at the national level, Paulón expressed his support for the system but noted that it has not worked to solve electoral problems but rather responded to a particular interest at the time. He highlighted that within his bloc there were different positions and called for continuing the debate on the subject of the PASO and electoral reforms with perspective and calmness.
