The Secretary of Justice, Sebastián Amerio, stated that the Government will have the nine signatures necessary for the ruling on Manuel García-Mansilla, candidate for Supreme Court judge. The deadline to try to persuade the opposition extends for a week, with the possibility of calling a special session on March 20 to reverse the rejection of both nominations.
In case the nominations are rejected, from the Casa Rosada they maintain that García-Mansilla can only be removed by political trial and that he will perform his duties as a judge until November 30. In contrast, the outlook for Judge Ariel Lijo is less optimistic, as the commission will meet this Thursday to expedite the ruling to reject his nomination.
The Unión por la Patria bloc has seven of the nine required signatures, adding two more from Buenos Aires senators. Given the fragility of both nominations, the Government plans to speak with the opposition to avoid rejection. With the support of Unión por la Patria, the opposition could reject the nominations in an upcoming session in the Senate.
The Government finds itself needing to make concessions, as it has not worked to secure the necessary votes since November. Although there is an intention to negotiate to postpone an eventual rejection, time is limited, and uncertainty about a quick agreement remains.
The negotiation will depend on the presidential advisor and the Secretary of Justice, with the aim of resolving the situation during the day. While efforts are made to postpone the rejection with the intervention of governors and legislators, the definition of more than 150 judicial nominations, including that of the Attorney General, remains pending. In the midst of these negotiations, an opposing dialoguing senator met in a significant office, in a context of tensions outside the Government House.
