The complete list of the names of the deputies signing the majority opinion backing the government’s omnibus bill emerged after this week’s controversial plenary committee sessions.
The initiative, which will be debated next Tuesday, won the approval of 55 votes, 34 of which were accompanied by dissent, and amid two controversial situations: accusations of signing a blank sheet and the resistance of moderate deputies to the pressures of Economy Minister Luis Caputo.
In the small hours of Wednesday, the government secured the advance of a majority opinion backing their "ley bases" reforms with 18 La Libertad Avanza signatures plus 17 from PRO, eight Radicals, four and three respectively from Hacemos Coalición Federal and Innovación Federal (both inland caucuses), four votes from single-member caucuses and even one from Unión por la Patria.
Libertarians Oscar Zago, Lilia Lemoine and Gabriel Bornoroni gave full backing while dissident support came from María Eugenia Vidal, Silvia Lospennato, Sabrina Ajmechet, María Florencia De Sensi and Laura Rodríguez Machado of PRO, the Radicals Karina Banfi and Martín Tetaz, Juan Brugge of Hacemos Coalición Federal, Carlos Alberto Fernández of Innovación Federal and Agustín Fernández, who has just left Unión por la Patria to form his own "Independencia" caucus.
"It was to save the sugar issue. They had removed an article referring to sugar after we had fought to remove all export duties from lemons while we want to improve biofuels. We’re talking about very important jobs in our two main industries," the Tucumán deputy told Radio Con Vos to justify his exit from the mainstream Peronist caucus.
A Hacemos Coalición Federal deputy rejecting the majority opinion made a serious public charge – he assured that those in favour of the initiative had signed a blank sheet with debate continuing afterwards.
"Last night the committees processing the omnibus bill in Congress met when the opinions were finally made known. Two of them completely rejected the law while the government draft was presumably still being written in some Congress office because the deputies in favour signed a blank sheet," charged Socialist Esteban Paulón.
Interviewed by El Destape Radio, the deputy added: "While we were discussing it, they were still writing up the bill so they circulated a blank sheet for the signature of the majority opinion, only adding the content 20 minutes ago."
These rumours about the majority opinion, which appeared over 10 hours after its signature, indicate that a verbal agreement was reached in order to avoid bad news for the government ahead of the CGT general strike. The rumour arose on Wednesday afternoon.
"The government draft was presented four days ago with no change," explained libertarian caucus chief Zago.
"The entire (majority) opinion was approved in the plenary session with no amendment of any kind. If there are one or two or five questions, the amendments will come on the house floor," he said.
The controversy is far from over – Miguel Ángel Pichetto is reportedly highly annoyed with the government and with Caputo in particular.
"Today I met with the Treasury secretary and the Provinces undersecretary to delineate all the provincial remittances which will be cut immediately if any of the economic articles is rejected. This is not a threat but confirmation that we will honour the mandate given to us by a majority of Argentines to balance the budget and end decades of the scourge of inflation," wrote the minister in X (ex-Twitter).
The annoyance of the Republican Peronist can be seen in his answer via the same social network.
"Economy Minister @LuisCaputoAR, who lacked the courage to come to Congress, should stop squeezing governors and try seeking agreements with the provincial governments instead of threatening them," Pichetto wrote.
He was joined by the Córdoba Radical Rodrigo de Loredo, also key to the government clinching the majority opinion, writing reproachfully: "Minister @LuisCaputoAR, our caucus yesterday permitted your government to have a committee opinion in record time, despite your unprecedentedly small parliamentary minority. If your warning is to make us tighten the belts for pensioners or increase export duties, you should know that will not happen – it will not become law. Grateful for your courage but I would remind you that ministers are not voted in by the people, unlike the governors who have been voted in by the people of their provinces, and may be impeached. The people did not vote to squeeze pensioners nor to increase export duties. This is not a threat either, it is an answer to all the pensioners and farmers who are asking if the axe will fall on them or if there will be a genuine change."
Both exchanges leave it clear that the atmosphere between the government and the moderate opposition is far from being cordial, thus jeopardising the approval of the central pillars of the law – the government certainly sees it that way. The fiscal package is one of them, thus prompting Caputo’s public pressure of cutbacks for the governors.
The answers of Pichetto and De Loredo both seem points of no return in political terms. The government has until Tuesday, with the fate of its omnibus bill at stake and uncertainty the only certainty.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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