2024-04-19 00:23:24
It happened almost in silence, as the session came to an end. The agenda had already been exhausted and the Salteño Juan Carlos Romero, from the Cambio Federal bloc, asked to speak and asked to incorporate a project that promised scandal: a new update mechanism for senators’ allowances. Vice President Victoria Villarruel he didn’t waste time and voting quickly opened, by show of hands and without debate. The result was affirmative.
With this decision, the senators will earn more than $6,000,000 gross (regarding $4,500,000 out of pocket), contemplating extra items. “This is how caste moves. The only seven who voted once morest are the senators from La Libertad Avanza,” reacted President Javier Milei, who in March had ordered to reverse with a 30% increase.
At that time, Villarruel (who claimed to be in favor of the increase) was forced to sign a joint resolution with her fellow Deputies, Martín Menem, to roll back the increase. This Thursday, the vice president had her revenge, although she publicly distanced herself from the measure: “I am not a senator, I am not paid by the Senate and I cannot interfere in those decisions.”
The maneuver was conceived in secret this Wednesday during the Parliamentary Labor meeting, headed by Villarruel, in which block heads participated. There he germinated the anger over the news that the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, will earn more than $3,000,000 for having been promoted to the rank of Secretary of State.
Who will drive the initiative: the Crexell firm
Under this climate of unrest, the senators agreed to vote at the end of the session on the increase in allowances. He Salteño Romero put the initiative on his shoulders and representatives of all the blocks (with the exception of the PRO) They stamped their signature. Even a libertarian, Bruno Olivera from San Juan, joined, who later denied it: “It is not true that he signed the project, I don’t know how it appeared.”
According to the newspapers Infobae and Clarín, the project quickly gained the signatures of other senators. Jose Mayansas head of the Unión por la Patria interblock, together with Juliana Di Tulliofrom Unidad Ciudadana, also signed the increase, which will also once once more be a kind of “hook-up law” because it will be updated with each improvement that legislative employees make given that it is governed by the modules of that salary scale.
They were joined by the radicals Pablo Blanco (Tierra del Fuego) and Daniel Kroneberger (La Pampa) as also Lucila Crexell from Neuquén, who has her Comunidad Neuquén block.
Already in the chamber, the file was incorporated into the agenda with a two-thirds vote, and was finally approved. Both votes were by show of hands, a resource that served to avoid leaving a record. As the hours pass, Several senators who did not raise their hands came out to clarify that they had voted once morest, although according to a regulatory interpretation, by not expressing it out loud they ended up validating the measure.
“All senators of the Nation “Of all the political blocs that were present, we voted in favor of updating the diets, even those who say they did not do it or now want to reject it,” Kirchnerist Juliana Di Tullio attackedwho cited articles of the regulation and openly claimed the increase.
The PRO block, with Luis Juez at the head, was one of those that came out to take off and received congratulations from former president Mauricio Macri. Mendoza radicals Rodolfo Suárez (former governor of the province) and Mariana Juri also said they had voted once morest, and even asked Villarruel, by note, not to receive the increase.
The controversial decision that was made in March
On March 11, under pressure from Milei, Villarruel and Menem had decided to “unhook” the legislative allowances from the increases that legislative employees receive on a joint basis, following the controversy unleashed with the last increase.
This resolution generated discomfort among legislators, without partisan distinction, and projects arose to adjust diets according to different parameters. The one that prospered this Thursday is tied to the modules, which are the unit of measurement used for the salaries of legislative employees. In practice, it will function as a new “hook”.
The The diet will be equivalent to 2,500 modules, plus an additional 1,000 modules for representation expenses and another 500 modules for uprooting.if applicable (it is the plus charged by national legislators with real domicile 100 kilometers from the City of Buenos Aires).
The agreement reached last week between the authorities of Congress and the three legislative unions (Association of Legislative Personnel, ATE and UPCN) increased the value of the module by 8% as of March 1, leaving it at $1,802.
In this way, a senator will collect $4,505,000 for per diem, plus $1,802,000 for representation expenses and another $2,302 for uprooting if applicable. In total, they would receive $6,309,302 gross, without discounts. The expense will be met with contributions from the Senate.
In the Chamber of Deputies there were no signs to move in the same direction. Unlike Villarruel, Menem agrees with Milei in not increasing the allowances, but the deputies, for the most part, do not think the same and grumble under their breath. In the last settlement they collected around $1,800,000 gross ($1,200,000 out of pocket, with uprooting included). Since there was no adjustment mechanism, any increase was at the discretion of Menem.
Villarruel’s version: “I don’t get paid from the Senate and I can’t interfere in those decisions”
“As President of the Senate, I am not a senator, I do not receive compensation from the Senate and I cannot interfere in those decisions. Nor can I force a nominal vote or justify the decision endorsed by everyone, because I am not a senator. I might have gotten up so that my photo would not appear and some of the journalism and trolls would accuse me of what I have no influence on, but I always show my face and today will not be the exception,” was Villarruel’s defense on social networks. .
And I add: “He regretted that the people are lied to and that certain sectors take advantage of it to try to get me dirty, But what happened in the Senate is perfectly legal and I have no tools to stop it.”
Fuente: Buenos Aires Correspondent
1713486936
#senators #maneuver #increase #allowances #created