The latest marathon session of the Chamber of Deputies, which concluded with the approval of the 2026 Budget bill in its first reading, led to a major political conflict. The conflict arose after three new members of the Audit General of the Nation (AGN) were approved and sworn in at 3 a.m., outside the official agenda of the extraordinary session. This provoked protests from opposition blocs, which denounced a 'caste deal' between La Libertad Avanza (LLA) and Kirchnerism to divide up positions and circumvent the constitutional and regulatory rules of Congress.
The controversy escalated when, after 3 a.m., the plenary advanced the appointment of Rita Mónica Almada, representing LLA; Juan Ignacio Forlón, for Peronism; and Pamela Calletti, a former Salta deputy for Federal Innovation, as general auditors, even though this point was not included in the presidential decree calling for the extraordinary session.
In response, blocs composed of PRO, UCR, the Civic Coalition, and United Provinces walked out of the chamber in protest, denouncing that the maneuver constituted a violation of Article 65 of the National Constitution and the chamber's regulations, which limit the topics that can be addressed in an extraordinary session and do not contemplate the appointment of authorities for external control bodies like the AGN.
In this sense, the president of the PRO bloc, Cristian Ritondo, harshly criticized the measure, calling it 'unconstitutional' and announced that his bloc will go to court to challenge the appointments, because, he argued, this issue should not have been addressed in an extraordinary session without being included in the official agenda.
The Civic Coalition also joined the complaint, denouncing what it called 'transactions and agreements of a transversality and length unimaginable,' alluding to the early morning pact that allowed the appointments to be approved.
From the ruling party, the promoters of the motion—mainly deputies from La Libertad Avanza—defended the decision by arguing that the AGN could not be left without its members to begin the upcoming legislative year after a long period of vacancy that had limited the agency's operational capacity.
The opposition, for its part, maintains that the maneuver to appoint auditors to the AGN demonstrates an institutional setback and a practice of 'carving up positions' that contravenes the basic rules of Congress's functioning.
