The opposition accelerates negotiations to overturn Javier Milei’s decree that increases the budget of the new SIDE with $100,000 million for reserved expensesbeyond having failed in its attempt to obtain a rejection opinion from the bicameral Legislative Procedure Committee. Now, lThe opposition is seeking to unite to try to overthrow the DNU directly in the House of Representatives on August 15.
Within the scope of the bicameral DNU, which met this Thursday, Encuentro Federal (the new name for Miguel Angel Pichetto’s bloc) pressured, together with Kirchnerism, to deal with Milei’s decrees related to the SIDE. The ruling party in tandem with radicalism and the PRO They managed to delay the treatment of the controversial decrees, although The opposition will return to the charge next week with the bet of rejecting them in the enclosure.
Deputy Hernán Lombardi (PRO) outlined the ruling party’s strategy by asking for an “orderly” treatment of the presidential decrees. In this sense, he proposed that the commission be convened to deal with the decrees related to intelligence services between August 22, September 5 and 15.
The underlying intention was to pass decree 614, which dissolves the AFI and creates the new SIDE, and decree 656, which grants a significant budget for reserved expenses, to the bicameral Intelligence Agency Monitoring Committee. “It would seem logical that it would go through the Bicameral Intelligence Committee”he argued.
The curious thing is that the formation of the Intelligence Commission is blocked by the lack of agreement between the ruling party and its allies. The Secretary General of the Presidency, Karina Milei, wants it to be in the hands of the Entre Ríos senator Edgardo Kueider (Unidad Federal) and the PRO is pushing to appoint the missionary Martin Goerling, endorsed by the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, and also Mauricio Macri.
Juan Carlos Pagotto, president of the bicameral commission for legislative proceedings. Photo: Federico López Claro.
The K’s were unable to issue a ruling against the DNU that increases reserved expenses
At the DNU commission meeting this Thursday, Kirchnerism had requested that the last three decrees signed by Milei related to intelligence policy be included in the agenda, one signed in December of last year ordering the intervention of the AFI, while the other two have to do with the dissolution of the intelligence agency and its replacement by the new SIDE and the increase in reserved funds.
In fact, representatives of Unión por la Patria had submitted a note to the president of the commission, Juan Carlos Pagotto, last week requesting the expansion of the agenda. But since the request was not heard, Deputy Carolina Gaillard presented a motion to discuss the three DNUs at the bicameral meeting with the intention of issuing an opinion.
The The proposal did not prosper because the ruling party imposed its majority in the bicameral. The vote came out with 6 votes in favor (Massot and the K) and 7 against (the libertarians, UCR and PRO). Two facts called attention: one was the absence of the Corrientes senator Carlos “Camau” Espínola (Unidad Federal) and the other is that among the votes against the UP maneuver were recorded The radicals, who a week ago had sent a statement asking for the “urgent” treatment of the presidential decree.
Even the deputy Francisco Monti (UCR) seemed determined to mark the court for the ruling party and join the request of Nicolás Massot, with whom he had signed a note asking Pagotto to urgently convene the DNU commission. “Don’t think, Mr. President, that you have the monopoly on setting the agenda and calling meetings whenever you want”he said, addressing the head of the bicameral. But immediately, the legislator from Catamarca clarified that he was not going to support the Kirchnerist motion.
Radical Senator Victor Zimmermann in the bicameral DNU. Photo: Federico Lopez Claro.
Senator Victor Zimmermann (UCR-Chaco) also cemented the strategy that seeks to delay any decision when he demanded the formation of the Intelligence Commission to make “the necessary consultations.” Although he clarified that everything should be done in “the shortest time possible.” Later, the radicals justified their decision arguing that They did not want to be caught in the middle of the fight between Pichetto and the libertarians..
In the case of Espínola there were no further details, but it must be clarified that it would not have modified the vote since if they had voted with the Peronists they would not have been able to reverse the maneuver of the ruling party, because in that case it would have ended in a tie and Pagotto would have broken the tie as he was the president of the commission.
Although it is true that the opposition was unable to issue a ruling rejecting Milei’s decrees, the bicameral has 10 days to issue a ruling and, if it does not do so, the DNU can be discussed directly in the chamber. The deadline will expire on August 14.
Nicolas Massot, Oscar Zago, Fernando Monti and Lisandro Almiron. Photo: Federico Lopez Claro.
That is why the opposition has set its motion in motion. Sixteen deputies from different blocs sent to the Presidency of the Lower House a request for a session for next Thursday to deal exclusively with the DNU of the reserved funds. The note was signed by, among others, Nicolás Massot, Emilio Monzó and Margarita Stolbizer (Federal Meeting), the lilito Juan Manuel López and the radicals Facundo Manes and Pablo Juliano.
To achieve a quorum and the votes to overturn the DNU, They need the deputies of the Left, those of Federal Innovation and the 99 of Union for the Homeland. That is the negotiation that started. The ruling party, however, has resources to avoid the session: yesterday it demonstrated this in the bicameral
