Faced with the imminent discussion of the Omnibus law in the Senate, the UCR bloc is once again tense, as when they voted divided to reject or support the DNU. The head of the Buenos Aires UCR Maximiliano Abad noted that there is no unified position and promotes a meeting of all senators with the radical governors. Knowing that this is where the governor of Mendoza, Alfredo Cornejo, leader of the accordist movement, has the most influence, Senator Martín Lousteau does not support the move. The president of the UCR will surely seek to make changes to the bill, something that Javier Milei would like to avoid.
The Senate is currently discussing the Omnibus (or minibus) law and the fiscal package (which includes Profits, a co-participating tax for governors). One of the most stressed blocks is, again, the radical one. Abad made a proposal to try to contain the 13 senators in a single position and not tear themselves apart in divided votes and bitter discussions as happened when they had to vote on the MegaDNU.
The discussion is not minor, given that -despite the optimism that reigns in the ruling party- The numbers in the Senate are very tight and every vote counts. Vice President Victoria Villarruel, in charge of gathering wills, hopes that the radicals will repeat the assistance to the Government that they mostly provided in Deputies: even if the speeches against are heated, that the fingers will then move towards the affirmative button.
In that line, Abad stated that “radicalism does not have an organic position, it can be seen with what happened this week in Deputies”. The head of the Buenos Aires UCR recalled that in this case it is his turn to “exercise the role of reviewing chamber, evaluating the project point by point” and said that he has not decided his vote, so he wants to speak with the radical governors. Spoiler: the radical governors push for the law to pass, and especially the fiscal package. So – they suspect Lousteau’s side – everything is a surround play so as not to lose radical votes at the moment of truth.
What Abad plans to do is formally request the president of the UCR bloc in the Senate, Eduardo Vischi, to call a meeting with the radical governors. In this way, the five radical governors would attend Congress: in addition to Cornejo, Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy), Gustavo Valdés (Corrientes) and Leandro Zdero (Chaco). The meeting has no date (in fact, Abad had not yet made the request to Vischi), but there is time: due to regulatory times, it will be two weeks before the Senate is in a position to discuss the project.
Of the governors who would attend the meeting, Lousteau would have one ally (Pullaro, who was the one who put the most limits on the national government in the face of threats), and perhaps two (Sadir, who is from Gerardo Morales’ line). But there is a reality: Milei sought This time the governors have an objective interest in the law being approved. It is not only the threat that it would leave them out of the May Pact (with the consequent budgetary suffocation that this threat implies), but that the return of Profits will inject them with funds through co-participation.
The five governors have been talking with the Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, who has been working tirelessly to get the law passed. So it will not be a surprise what they are going to propose if that meeting is held. Even before the vote of Deputies, Francos gave them a draft of how the law was going to look. It is clear that the minister does not want to repeat past failures.
Lousteau did not oppose the meeting with governors – it would not be smart to do so – but he made it clear that he is not promoting that initiative. It’s all Abad’s.
What the Buenos Aires senator is looking for is that what happened in Deputies is not repeated, where Facundo Manes’ sector raised objections. Nevertheless, The eight deputies who belong to those five radical provinces voted in favorr of the project in general, and the fiscal package, in addition to money laundering. In the Senate, the UCR has two seats for Mendoza, another two for Santa Fe, two for Corrientes, one for Chaco and one for Jujuy. The bet is not to stop at those votes but to add the wayward ones.
Among those who are in doubt, in addition to Lousteau, is that of the Senator for Tierra del Fuego Pablo Blanco. It is difficult for both to change their critical position, but the meeting with the governors could be an attempt to put them in box. It remains to be seen if Lousteau even attends.
