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The minority in which the ruling party finds itself in Congress becomes increasingly evident. Cornered by both the friendly opposition and the most intransigent, the Government suffered a severe setback last night in the Chamber of Deputies, where by more than two-thirds of those present (162 affirmative votes, 72 against and eight abstentions) the project it seeks obtained half a sanction. recompose retirement assets. The initiative will now be turned to Senatewhere it is discounted that it will have a green light and even There is speculation that the final sanction will be printed with another special majority that leaves the presidential veto already announced.
“I leave you this tweet so that it is clear to everyone: I am not going to deliver the fiscal balance in any way. “I will defend the box with a pure veto if necessary,” he wrote. Javier Milei in its account of X after the half-sanction of the Lower House. There, the president recalled his speech in the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives (IAEF) last month, where he assured that he would veto any law passed by Congress that could harm the Government’s economic program, focused on zero deficit.
However, the presidential veto has limits. The National Constitution defines that if the President decides to reject the law, Each of the Chambers can also insist on its sanction if it manages to gather two-thirds of the members present to do so.. Although majorities are difficult to achieve, Deputies have already obtained it and in the Senate the outlook is even more adverse for the ruling party.
“The 33 of us are firm to vote for what comes from the Deputies,” ruled a senator from Unión por la Patria (UP) to THE NATION. With this base of guarantees, Kirchnerism is only 15 wills away from reaching the magical number of 48 (of the 72 senators, if all were present) and shielding the project.
In fact, radicalism, which drove the project in the lower house, has a block of 13 members. There, leaders who are committed to the libertarian project coexist with others who show aversion to the ideas of the ruling party. Nevertheless, The retirement discussion could finally place its members on the same side. This was the case with his fellow deputies, who for the first time this year voted together in favor of the project. Even those who answer to governors Alfredo Cornejo (Mendoza), Gustavo Valdés (Corrientes), Leandro Zdero (Chaco), Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe) and Carlos Sadir (Jujuy). Although the provincial leaders asked “not to be obstructionists” in the treatment of the Bases Law and the fiscal package, a new agenda in Congress discovered a less docile side.
The senator and president of the National Committee, Martin Lousteau, congratulated this Wednesday in X the deputies who supported the retirement improvement. With a message for his own troops, he pointed out that it is a way to “recompose the income of those who are losing the most against adjustment and inflation,” and stated: “I hope that we senators vote with the same conviction.”
As far as he could know THE NATIONit is likely that the three members of the Federal Unit, Carlos Mauricio Espínola (Currents), Edgardo Kueider (Entre Ríos) and Alejandra Vigo (Córdoba) also endorse the initiative, although none officially confirms it. It is an indication that the four deputies linked to the governor of Cordoba, Martin Llaryora, have accompanied the proposal. The same thing happened with the two Santa Cruz residents –Sergio Acevedo and José Luis Garrido– who respond to the provincial leader, Claudio Vidal. Close to the senators Jose Carambia and Natalia Gadanofrom the Por Santa Cruz bloc, advanced the feasibility of their positive vote.
The main unknown lies with Pro –with six members–, where the pension issue puts them in a trap. Older adults represent its strongest electoral base, but his defense could break the careful harmony with the Government. This discomfort was reflected in the details of the vote in Deputies, which showed that of the 16 absences, seven were from Pro representatives. Among others, the lack of Silvia Lospennato and Maria Eugenia Vidal.
This same situation was replicated in the Chubut legislators with specific terminals with the provincial president, Ignacio Torres. So much Ana Clara Romero as Jorge Avila They were absent during the general vote on the project. In the Senate, Andrea Cristina and Edith Terenzi They could adopt the same attitude, which will reduce the Government’s chances of avoiding defeat. In the upper house, dispensations are not counted as valid votes. Thus, Abstentions will help the opposition achieve two-thirds of those present with fewer votes..
With the Bases Law and the fiscal package still under discussion, the income of the initiative that seeks to recompose retirement assets could function as a new negotiation garment with the Casa Rosada. Although the ruling party does not have, at the moment, the votes to reject the project, It is likely that he will try to delay the discussion, and even seek to make changes to the project that will arrive from the Deputies. This scenario will force the review of the Chamber of origin and postpone its final sanction.
The text that obtained half a sanction in Deputies seeks to restore pensions by 8% due to the effect of inflation last January. In addition, it contemplates a redesign of the salary update formula that combines the inflation index (CPI) with the salary variable (RIPTE).
Defines a monthly adjustment for inflation and includes a clause for the implementation of a additional increase in March of each year according to the Ripte salary index. If this indicator is higher than the CPI, an increase equivalent to 50% of the difference would be transferred to benefits. If this variation had not been positive, no adjustment will be applied and the calculation the following year will be made based on the last index used.
The initiative also sets a floor for the minimum retirement asset, which should not be less than the value of a basic basket for the elderly, which is currently $250,286 per month. Kirchnerism and the dialogueists set the value of 1.09 basic basket as a parameter.
