by Javier Milei He will have to appeal to something more than “the forces of heaven” to achieve his maximum objective and for Deputies to give half-sanction to the omnibus bill. Especially after the internal tension that was generated in the block Freedom Advanceswhere the differences between the pure milleistas and the allies are increasingly noticeable.
The differences are not new and the assembly of the commissions to debate the mega project sent by the President lifted the veil a little more on the positions of each sector within the libertarian bloc, which presides Oscar Zagowho every time they can they remind him of his past as a radical to the PRO in the Buenos Aires Legislature.
The surprise occurred this Thursday when, in the midst of the convulsive integration of the Budget, General Legislation, Foreign Relations and Constitutional Affairs commissions, Marcela Pagano and another libertarian was appointed in his place.
It happened in Budget, where the journalist was replaced by Eduardo Falcone (LLA – Buenos Aires) and in Foreign Affairs, where María Cecilia Ibáñez (La Libertad Avanza-Córdoba) took her place. Pagano had also been mentioned for General Legislation, but they did not include it.
The situation was that the deputy was added to the payroll by the president of the block but without his endorsement, something not very wordy, they said. The bottom line is that Pagano’s nomination it was not consensual and, nevertheless, she was enrolled in two of the three commissions for which she had been mentioned.
The television host avoided entering into the controversy, kept a low profile, but made it clear that “one thing is to follow the guidelines left by Oscar (for Zago) and another one that they put on prepo“.
Since Milei was elected president, Pagano was mentioned to eventually preside over the House and also the bloc. She then seemed to be profiled to head the Budget Commission and Milei called to inform her that finally the chosen one was going to be José Luis Espert, the representative of Avanza Libertad and now a firm political partner of the ruling party. The same thing happened with Foreign Affairs, which the head of the libertarians ended up giving to Fernando Iglesias as part of the agreement with the PRO.
However, the journalist decided that He will not join the commissions until March when the 38 LLA deputies have a guaranteed place. However, from the beginning she had shown interest in commissions such as Labor, Finance and SMEs.
But the issue of commissions is a detail within of the political differences that exist between Pagano and Zago, who protests because her benchmate wants her to manage the group. Strictly speaking, the head of the bloc has tried to advance with the political assembly of the libertarians together with Carlos D’Alessandro from San Luis, and thus they resolved the integration of other commissions that could be demanded by the opposition for the treatment of the omnibus law.
In this scenario, Pagano is considered one of the so-called “outsiders” of the block, personalities who are more firm in supporting Milei’s speech and who repeat that they will be with the President until the last moment. But this group sees that another sector of the space has a different political past and they blame them for “prioritizing partisan issues.”
The critical eye is focused not only on Zago but also on legislators such as Nicolás Mayoraz, who was precisely elected president of the Constitutional Affairs commission. “They are from the Democratic Party that was with different parties. What guarantees are there that the same thing is not going to happen now?” an important libertarian operator reflected aloud.
It is worth clarifying that the Democrats have their own weight within the La Libertad Avanza bloc because, in addition to Mayoraz, there are also Mercedes Llano and Facundo Correa Llano, both from Mendoza; Guillermo Montenegro, who responds to Victoria Villarruel; and Gabriel Bonoroni, for Córdoba; who was left with the presidency of General Legislation.
The comment that circulates within the block is that “they do not seem committed and seem more interested in other partisan issues”. The president of the bloc is also reminded of his ties with the MID, his past in radicalism and his arrival to Buenos Aires Macriism.
They even also point out that in that agreement of the libertarians to demand that Milei be one of those who preside over the Chamber, removing Cristian Ritondo and Florencio Randazzo from the competition, Zago was a little far away. Although it is clear that the deputy was also one of those mentioned for the position.
Another topic that mark the differences in the ruling bloc it has to do with the fact that the president of the bench does not participate in the talks with the opposition, leaving everything under the control of Menem, who in turn is blamed for delaying the negotiations because You must wait for Karina Milei’s approval.
Added to this are the misunderstandings that are beginning to arise from the distribution of commissions and the treatment of the omnibus law. After being anointed as president of the Budget Committee, Espert announced to the four winds that next week he was going to rule and the following week they were going to discuss the project in the chamber, responding to the President’s urgent needs. He wants the half sanction for the week of January 25 and without modifications.
Zago ruled out that possibility and sent journalists to ask Espert how he planned to get an office on the same day that the briefings with Executive officials began. Added to this are the changes that the dialogue opposition wants to make.
In the midst of this climate there are those who emphasize in the LLA that “the important thing is that the laws come out as soon as possible”, but the concern is “containing their own” to reach the plenary session of commissions as best as possible.
