The legislature in Buenos Aires added a new chapter of political tension crossed by two axes at the same time: the crisis of Peronism itself, and the connection to a fierce opposition that it cannot do without this time.
The session that was scheduled to approve debt amounting to $3.035 million, in addition to another $500 million allocated to regional companies, fell on Friday. The ruling party’s numbers were so far away that it failed to gather the 47 deputies needed to achieve a quorum: only 39 legislators were seated.
The setback hits the Buenos Aires government after it obtained, in the same week, approval of the 2026 budget and the tax law. But the debt – the central piece of financial scaffolding for the coming year – was caught in a web of mistrust and disputes that erupted before a workplace agreement could be reached.
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The point hindering negotiations within the ruling party itself, in which the two seats belonging to Sergio Massa and La Campora determine the fate of the project, is the distribution of 8% of the debt allocated to municipalities, an amount that may exceed 340 thousand million dollars. The government proposes to distribute it via a single coefficient of distribution (CUD) or through a mixed mechanism that also takes into account the income of each region: an automatic scheme, without legislative intervention.
But there are those who are calling for the creation of a trust fund that would require projects and licenses by department. What’s the problem? The governor’s allies are seeking to put political control over payments into the hands of the legislature, something the provincial executive is unwilling to negotiate.
One of the negotiators confirms to PERFIL that the way to settle this debate is to agree on a fixed amount regardless of whether the government will owe or not, to ensure that the money reaches the municipalities. “There is no possibility that the management of the money will pass through the legislature,” he said hours after the session was adjourned. “Our cousins are withdrawing and measuring, but this will not happen. What can be opened is the discussion to give them money regardless of whether the province will go into debt or not.”
Other opposition requests related to positions in regional organizations, directorates and representative spaces have been added to this discussion. These allegations ended up contaminating an atmosphere already fraught with doubts that led to the collapse of the session.
“The opposition is so divided that negotiations become cumbersome,” explains this negotiator. “When you modify one piece, the other becomes disorganized.” The discussion is about expanding the Board of Directors of Pabro from 8 to 12 members and thus obtaining more places for distribution as well as places in other state institutions (Tax Court of the Province of Buenos Aires and the General Board of Education).
One minister says of the negotiations over the next few hours: “We can continue to argue for a few more hours, but the truth and the opposition know that agreeing to religion benefits everyone. This year without these tools they have had a difficult time, and this includes areas with a different political color.”
To approve the debt, the province needs a two-thirds vote in both chambers, which requires adding opposition support. But before that, the ruling party had to resolve internal tensions between the bloc, La Campora and the sector directly allied with Axel Kiselov.
Although all Peronists took their seats, opposition claims of not providing a quorum kept negotiations active among those who took the opportunity to fight for more money.
In recent weeks, La Campora has made an effort to prove that it is not an obstacle to the laws that Kicilloff needs, although it does not lose its distrust of Calle 6. When a quorum was not achieved, the head of the Union for the Fatherland bloc, Facundo Tignanelli (Leader K), decided to put all the responsibility on the opposition for frustrating the debate. He added: “Every attempt has been made, from this chamber, the ministers who worked on the laws, and the entire governor’s team, urging dialogue and communication with all of the opposition leaders, bloc heads, and others, and it seems that there is a will not to implement this law, which is essential for the governorate.”
The representative of Massa and the Speaker of the Buenos Aires House of Representatives, Alexis Guerrera, showed in a way that his council would do everything in its power to hold a new session. He wrote: “A wonderful image of the moment when Sergio Massa asked us to make an effort to call a new session to put pressure on the opposition to decide whether or not to give us the tools of governance.” In the photo he and Tignanelli are talking on the phone with Tignanelli.
The fall of the session leaves an uncomfortable postcard for Axel Kiselov who is running out of time. The governor needs to collect votes before the legislative change, and then it will be difficult for him to get two-thirds. For this reason, this Friday the ruling party has once again set the date for the discussion at the Buenos Aires venue: the new call for the meeting will be on Wednesday, December 3. The clock is already ticking.