The special swearing-in session for new senators marked a milestone. The new head of the Progressive Freedom Caucus, Patricia Bullrich, exaggerated in her first session in the Senate and sought to set the tone for the head of the body, Victoria Villarroel, with whom she had a meeting the day before. “Be a couple for everyone’s sake,” Bullrich said to Villarroel after the session.
The first skirmish between the Vice President and the leader of the new Liberation Army took place in the Senate under the watchful eyes of Secretary General Karina Miley, who attended one of the boxes to see how the electoral assembly she had built for almost two years had reached the Senate.
The President was accompanied by Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni and Interior Minister Diego Santelli. In the box you can also see Eduardo “Lolly” Menem and Sherif Menem, who is running for the position of Secretary General of the House of Representatives starting next Wednesday.
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Short circuits reached the boxes. Karina confirmed that Villarroel did not guarantee her a place; In return, they explained that the boxes had already been allocated and that Casa Rosada officials should be present in the remaining spaces. A spark of war that will not end until the end of the term.
Through Bullrich and Karina, the messages clearly reached the Vice President. This is the landing of the new liberation army that will have 20 senators, with or without Río Negro Lorena Villaverde. At the same time, Victoria upholds institutional discourse, reiterating that she is not part of the body, that her job is to preside over it, and that she will seek to ensure the best possible functioning of the body.
Appeals to Senator-elect Villaverde, which were reflected in the (non-binding) majority opinion issued by the Constitutional Affairs Committee last week. The closed defense of Cordoba Senator Luis Guez was not enough.
A few days ago, the judge presented a paper from the Ministry of the Interior in which he stated that Villaverde had no criminal record.
The ruling party was forced to maneuver. He avoided the nonsense on the day of the premiere of Kareena’s new film in the Senate. They were not given the platform that would have unleashed their criticism of Villaverde’s criminal record, and especially of Martin Soria, who continues his personal duel with his compatriot.
The failure to take the oath of office by Rio Negro did not fail to attract attention. A few days before the special session, the ruling party announced that there were votes to defend the senator-elect who was not only arrested in Florida for possession of 400 grams of cocaine, but also had connections to businessman Federico “Fred” Machado through his cousin Claudio “Lechuga” Ceccarelli.
The liberals have bought time. They realize that with a new and better balance of power as of December 10, they will be in better circumstances to support Villaverde. Violet Seat is not in danger. If Villaverde does not take charge, Enzo Folloni, the second man on the list, will take over. However, Karina’s message was clear: not to give up an inch to Kirchner’s doctrine.
Tensions in the Senate also showed that Villarroel did not allow Bullrich, who spoke without activating the microphone, to speak. The Senate President explained, which disturbed the security specialist, “We had agreed yesterday, all the blocs present, in a meeting with the heads of the blocs, not to see speeches or any interference.”
The Liberals held their meeting in one of the Senate chambers. As soon as Krishna arrived at the Senate, the LLA president received the senators. “It is important that we are all together,” Kareena said in a video broadcast by party networks.
Bullrich seized the opportunity. After taking the oath, he crossed over to the deputies where, together with Martin Menem, they officially moved to the official bloc of the former PRO party, Veronica Razzini.