In the midst of tensions between the ruling party and the opposition regarding the negotiations for the agreement with the IMF, The Senate was the scene this Tuesday of a meeting between the authorities of the Frente de Todos and Together for Change blocks to start dealing with the distribution of commissions, the step prior to the discussion of any project.
The head of the José Mayans bloc was on behalf of the ruling party together with Vice President Anabel Fernández Sagasti, as well as the Administrative Secretary of the Upper House Luz “Luchi” Alonso, who is the most trusted by Vice President Cristina Kirchner. Radicals Luis Naidenoff and Alfredo Cornejo participated in the opposition along with the head of the PRO block Humberto Schiavoni.
Although there were expectations regarding a principle of understanding on the distribution, given the possibility that a session be called before the end of the extraordinary session on February 28, the truth is that there was no clear progress in this regard and almost any chance to meet before March 1 is considered closed.
Mayans had indicated in recent days that the ruling party was not willing to cede the presidency of any commission, protected by the fact that the regulations of the Upper House do not provide it that way. But nevertheless, Earlier, Vice President Cristina Kirchner lowered the order to negotiate with the opposition and give them some commissionsalthough none of the strategic ones.
Precisely, the Formosan had confirmed the meeting yesterday but noted that throughout the previous year the work of the opposition was “not giving a quorum”. He recalled that “when the reform of the Tax on Personal Assets was discussed, which benefited a universe of 1,700 .000 thousand taxpayers, the opposition did not go down to the premises. And the correlate of him in the Lower House was to leave the National Government without a Budget for 2022 “
According to parliamentary sources commented to PROFIL, that position was reflected in the meeting although Mayans did not spare reproaches towards the opposition, especially for his position in the last two debates of the year on the Budget and Personal Assets. The faces of Anabel Fernández Sagasti and Alfredo Cornejo, rivals from the last campaign for the Senate in Mendoza, were also seen once more.
José Mayans conditioned support for the agreement with the IMF in the Senate: “We need details”
Specific, the opposition asked that the amount of commissions it has so far be respected, not only the presidencies but the members that it has in them. For example, Together for Change had commissions such as Internal Security, Systems and Media and Environment, among others, so they hope that the presidencies will be maintained. However, the Front of All has all the strategies such as Agreements, Constitutional Affairs, Budget and General Legislation, among others.
“We want at least what we had, if you exchange one for me, it’s for another commission and we want proportionality in everything,” the opponents asked of the ruling party’s representation, while recalling the new proportion of forces between both sectors following the renewal of seats on December 10.
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Cristina Kirchner in the Senate
Topics on the agenda
The Senate is pending the start of the discussions on two issues that are central: the Fiscal Consensus and the Reform of the Council of the Judiciary, which were included in the call for extraordinary sessions made by President Alberto Fernández.
For this to happen, the formation of the commissions must first be called, and although a first step was taken this Tuesday, it has almost been ruled out that there will be sessions before March 1.
Is that At the same time, efforts are being made to reach consensus on the agreement with the IMFwhich is not included in the agenda but which is of vital resolution for the ruling party in the coming weeks, especially from the internal differences that it left exposed Máximo Kirchner with his resignation as head of the Frente de Todos bloc in Deputies.
Running from the discussion by the IMF, Máximo K focuses on his role as head of the Buenos Aires PJ
Mayans also marked their position and warned that “We need the details of the agreement with the IMF, to know in what commitment we are going to put the country”, said the Formosan, before advancing a position of the ruling party of the Upper House on the understanding of the National Government and the international organization.
In this regard, the senator indicated that “once the Ministry of Economy sends you the complete report of the understanding with the IMF, it will be submitted to the consideration of the members of the bloc for analysis. There we are going to have to listen to each other, we are going to have the different positions, because we have to be balanced and do what is best for Argentina. This country deserves something else, not to have so much suffering”he reflected.
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