The libertarian senator, Lorena Villaverde, may be barred from taking her oath after her candidacy was rejected by the Peronist bloc in the Constitutional Affairs Committee. This means that senators who are sworn in during the preparatory session on Friday, November 28th, and those with a current mandate will vote by a simple majority on whether the legislator, elected by the minority in Río Negro, can take her seat. The Constitutional Affairs Committee issued two majority opinions: one in favor of the elected senators' credentials and another rejecting Villaverde's diploma. The majority opinion also includes Senators Martín Soria and Jorge Capitanich, who were impugned by La Libertad Avanza (LLA) just before the committee meeting began. This majority report was signed by the eight Peronists; the Córdoban Alejandra Vigo; the radical Pablo Blanco and Juan Carlos Romero. Meanwhile, LLA, along with PRO, will present a minority opinion in the coming hours endorsing Villaverde and the rest of the elected senators, with the exception of Soria and Capitanich. With the new composition of the Senate, the ruling party will have 20 of its own legislators and Peronism 28, making the 9 UCR legislators; the 5 from PRO and the 6 provincial ones from Santa Cruz, Misiones, Salta and Neuquén key to negotiations. Vigo clarified that the decision will be made in the session room, as the opinions are "not binding", but rather a "recommendation" from that body of the chamber. The paradox is that the reports were signed with the current composition, while the fate of Villaverde will be decided by the elected legislators and those who remain in their posts. Sources close to the ruling party told the Argentine News Agency that they have not lost hope of winning the vote in the chamber with the help of the dialogist legislators. In fact, Peronism indicated to this agency that they do not yet have the votes guaranteed to reject Villaverde's credentials. At the start of the debate, there was a strong controversy over the request by LLA senators Juan Carlos Pagotto to include the impeachments of Soria and Capitanich, which was flatly rejected by Peronism. DEBATE The president of the Peronist inter-bloc, José Mayans, stated that Villaverde "was once caught in Miami buying dollars, and that was the time she was found. We are in an instance where some have a taken position, but it is the body that will ultimately have to make the resolution in this regard".
