In a desperate move, the government backed away from the swearing-in of Rio Negro senator-elect Lorena Villaverde, who had been questioned over her alleged links to drug trafficking, and His testimony was returned to the committee because he did not get the votes to approve it..
In this way, the National Representative of La Libertad Avanza (LLA) will prevent the body from voting to approve or reject its document and Only the 23 senators elected in the October 26 elections will be sworn in.
The decision was adopted at a meeting of the Parliamentary Workers’ Party, at which the head of the ruling bloc, Ezequiel Atoch, requested that the opinion issued by the legislator-elect from Rio Negro be sent to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs.
This measure was accepted by the rest of the bloc leaders who participated in the meeting, led by Vice President Victoria Villarroel. Even the president of the Union por la Patria, José Mayanes, did not question the ruling party’s request even though he signed a ruling rejecting Villaverde’s testimony.
It is worth noting that Peronism, with the support of opposition sectors, has already issued a ruling rejecting the petition of Río Negro, who was questioned because of her relationship with businessman Fred Machado, who was extradited to the United States on charges of drug trafficking. Moreover, she was arrested in 2002 in Florida, United States, on charges of drug smuggling and the seizure of a kilo of cocaine.
The government wanted to respond with a double challenge against the elected senators of Fuerza Patria Jorge “Cookie” Capitanic (Chaco) and Martín Soria (Río Negro). However, these requests will not be made and both lawmakers will be able to take the oath on Friday.
The ruling party expects that with the new composition of the Council, it will be able to overturn the ruling of rejection and consecrate Villaverde as a senator.
Short circuit between Villarroel and Bullrich: The Vice President distances herself from the Villaverde case
The truth is that the case of the senator-elect of Rio Negro ultimately had an impact on the weak relationship between the two countries. Patricia Bullrichthe future head of the ruling party in the Senate, with Victoria Villarroelwhich was marginalized by Casa Rosada, remains in an institutionalized and… She distanced herself from the plan to allow the current national representative to take her seat.
The Vice President was upset by the alleged move of the Security Minister, who promoted a meeting between Villarroel and the Libertarian Bloc as a meeting to determine the strategy they will take in the building on Friday for the preparatory session in which the elected lawmakers will be sworn in in October.
Bullrich denied that he pushed Villarroel to defend Villaverde The vice president had already been questioned in 2023 when she was running for representative. Finally, the Vice President received members of the Senate loyal to the government in her office, in a protocol meeting that helped her meet the members of the new body, which after the victory on October 26 increased from 6 to 20 seats.
Strictly speaking, Villarroel sought to justify himself His decision not to put his body to defend Villaverde. A parliamentary source said: “She does not want to be stuck with a senator suspected of drug trafficking.” For this reason, the Vice President once again left the task of collecting votes to defend Rio Negro’s testimony in the hands of Bullrich.
Even after serving as President of the Senate, the Minister returned to visit the Radical Civic Union (UCR) bloc, where it was not yet clear how they would position themselves on the Villaverde case.
The scenario is pure tension for the so-called Iron Ladies. Villarroel does not want “Senate interference” on behalf of Casa Rosada, but she is also not willing to facilitate Karina Miley’s successes. Bullrich knows that he cannot make a wrong move because if he fails to confirm Villaverde as a senator, it will mean defeat at the beginning of his administration.
Before the meeting with Villarroel, Bullrich gathered his forces to determine the ruling party’s strategy and there was confidence that Villaverde could be confirmed as senator. But during the parliamentary business meeting, everything was watered down and the ruling party chose to downgrade the document and avoid potential chaos.
Those around the elected legislator demanded respect for the constitution, and stressed that she was the victim of “obscene stigma,” denying any connection to drug trafficking.
Through her account on
Approval of the document so she can be sworn in as a senator requires a simple majority of those present and Villaverde cannot vote on her testimony. Therefore If everyone was present, he had to collect 36 votes to secure the seat.
It has been speculated that the ruling party will have the support of the PRO and UCR, as well as the two senators from the Renovador de Misiones Front who responded to Carlos Rovira. Also among the liberals are Beatriz Ávila of Tucuman and Julieta Coroza of Neuquén, the current minister to Governor Rolando Figueroa.
The suspicion fell on Santa Cruz residents Jose Carambia and Natalia Gadano, who were negotiating their votes directly with the government.
Peronism, which will move from a bloc of 34 to 28, reaches this stage amid internal partisanship and pressure from some conservatives who need to negotiate with the government. In principle, the forces under José Mainz were moving towards rejecting the Villaverde Document.
Meanwhile, Alejandra Vigo from Cordoba announced that she will not participate in tomorrow’s session because her husband, MP-elect Juan Chiaretti, will undergo surgery.