It’s an open ending. Beyond the confidence that they express externally, the Government knows that the negotiations in the Senate to obtain the necessary votes to approve the Base Law will be until the last minute, and that nothing is assured.
In this context, in the last few hours the Government has achieved key political support that, in any case, will not necessarily translate into raised hands on the premises tomorrow: the 10 governors of Together for Change publicly asked that the megaproject be approved as well as the fiscal package. In any case, and after some short circuits, the leaders will hold a virtual meeting to ratify and finish shaping that position.
It all started yesterday afternoon when a statement was released with the signature of the 10 governors who are part of the PRO, the main political force allied with La Libertad Avanza: Jorge Macri (CABA); Leandro Zdero (Chaco); Ignacio “Nacho” Torres (Chubut); Gustavo Valdés (Corrientes); Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos); Carlos Sadir (Jujuy); Alfredo Cornejo (Mendoza); Marcelo Orrego (San Juan); Claudio Poggi (Saint Louis); and Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe).
Precisely the name of the man from Santa Fe remained at the center of the scene as the hours passed. It was after the leader of the UCR Emiliano Yacobitti, right hand of Martín Lousteau, assured in a message on his X account that the statement was “false.” Close to the vice-rector of the UBA they affirmed that the signature of Pullaro, very close to both leaders, had been included without his consent. Given this scenario, sources close to the governor admitted that there was a short circuitbut they made it clear that support is guaranteed.
“His position is the same as always, the one he expressed in every forum and in every public statement. Pullaro supports the Bases Law so that the Government can have its tool to implement its plan,” they expressed to Infobae from the environment of one of the governors of Together for Change. It should be noted that the governor of Santa Fe will share an event this afternoon with Patricia Bullrich in Rosario and, later, will give a press conference, in which the topic could be referred to.
The greatest contribution to the confusion were the words of the head of the Buenos Aires Government, Jorge Macri, who last night assured that the statement was released ahead of time and that there was still no unanimous consensus.
“There is a statement that is being talked about, which It still does not have the consensus of all the governors, it was circulated ahead of time. I adhere to that statement. They are all there. I will take great care of this space. The statement came out before there was an ok from all the members and that is wrong,” explained the Buenos Aires mayor during an interview in the TN channel.
“In reality, no one signed it. Tomorrow (today) there will be a zoom,” Macri stressed.
“Any delay that may occur in the legislative process can affect not only national finances, but also provincial finances,” states the text from the provincial leaders released yesterday.
The support aims to “give the national government the tools to advance with the transformations that the majority of Argentine society voted for.”
“There is no more time to lose. The majority of the provinces have expressed their support for the instruments required by the President of the Nation and the national government,” they emphasized.
In the same sense, they highlighted: “We need to give a clear signal to the markets, the world and the Argentines that our country is moving towards fiscal balance, betting on private investment and modernizing its labor system. All these axes have found a majority consensus between the ruling party and a sector of the constructive and dialogic opposition”.
Therefore, beyond the fact that it is ruled out that there will ultimately be concrete support for the Base Law, we will have to see how it materializes and what is the last public expression of the PRO governors before tomorrow’s session.
The Senate will begin the debate tomorrow on the floor the Base Law and the fiscal package, which is expected to be agitated due to the disagreement of some blocks of the “dialogue” opposition with certain articles of the projects. Despite the fact that La Libertad Avanza obtained the majority opinion for both issues to be discussed in the venue, there are spaces that are analyzing grouping together to force more changes to the official initiative, such as excluding Aerolíneas Argentinas and Correo from the list of companies to privatize.
Furthermore, there are still discrepancies regarding the restoration of the fourth category of the income tax, after the Government did not agree to exempt the Patagonian provinces from this tax, which refuse to incorporate this tax again. That is why the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francosplans to stay in Argentina to closely follow the development of the session in the Upper House, appealing once again to his character as a good negotiator.
The hours before the start of the debate on the Base Law and the fiscal package this Wednesday revealed the tension in the negotiation between the government and sectors of the opposition. In particular, with Martin Lousteau.
In the Casa Rosada there is special interest in the movements of the senator and president of the national committee of radicalism who presented an alternative text to the majority opinion that the ruling party achieved with the allies. The precedent of the two-thirds of the retirement mobility formula of the Chamber of Deputies last week set off alarm lights in the government: Kirchnerism, the UCR, the Civic Coalition and the bloc led by Miguel Ángel were temporarily allied Pichetto.
In the Government they want to avoid a similar partnership in the Senate, like the one that was reached to reject DNU 70 designed by Sturzenegger. What is striking, however, is the back-and-forth in the negotiations: weeks ago, before Posse left, Lousteau and his entourage had engaged in a series of conversations with the Executive. With Francos, Santiago Caputo and Eduardo “Lule” Menem.
In the last few hours, the Government was also closely following a group of senators who are not particularly linked to their governors. Among them, Edgardo Kueider, Carlos “Camau” Espínola or Lucila Crexell. In this last case, a possible offer was circulated for a posting abroad in exchange for the support of the law. In Peronist offices it emerged that the former president Cristina Kirchnervery active inside, warned that the legislators who respond to him would not give approval if it were, for example, an embassy which, in that case, would have to be validated by the Senate.
