Activity in the Chamber of Deputies is stalled in the second week of the ordinary session because the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) bloc is waiting for the Government to send the political reform bill to give new impetus to the agenda promoted by the ruling party.
This initiative has not yet been discussed in the Government's political table, which must define the text of the proposal to be sent to Congress, according to government sources informed the Argentine News Agency. A spokesperson noted that all new laws sent to Congress are discussed in the political table to see the implications, scope, modifications, but this has not happened yet.
In the Chamber of Deputies, only the Glacier Law is pending, which could be approved in April, after the public hearings to be held next Wednesday and Thursday and prior to the issuance of the opinion, which will happen within a 15-day period.
Although they will now focus on the Glacier Law, the main bet of the LLA will be the debate on political reform, where the ruling party seeks to eliminate the PASO primaries that it managed to suspend last year, modify the state financing system, and allow citizens to vote for the entire list with a single checkmark.
The discussion of the electoral law will require agreements with the blocs and dialogue-seeking governors since these projects must be approved by an absolute majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, for which they need 129 and 37 votes, respectively. La Libertad Avanza has the minority in the Lower House with 95 legislators and 21 in the Senate.
President Javier Milei. Photo: NA Agency (File)
The project that the Government will promote is to eliminate the PASO or make them non-mandatory for political parties that agree on their candidates; allow voting for the entire list while maintaining the Single Paper Ballot system; reform of the financing system to eliminate state funding, and the requirements to be recognized as political parties.
One of the key issues that the Government considers crucial is the possibility of voting for the entire list because this would allow Milei in a potential re-election to drag the rest of the list and achieve the election of more deputies and senators with the objective of reaching its own quorum in Congress.
In this way, they would also prevent categories from having blank votes because they argue that this could happen in a national election where, in addition to the authorities of the Executive Branch, deputies and senators are elected in eight provinces.
The ruling party will also insist on its proposal to raise the requirements to be able to run for president, since currently it is required that an alliance have legal personality in five districts and the intention is that in the future that legal personality be required in 10 districts, according to spokespeople informed the Argentine News Agency.
