Argentina.-The political crisis that erupted following the accusations against Manuel Adorni for illicit enrichment doesn’t give the Government any respite. This Thursday, opposition deputies formally convened a session for May 14th in which the four projects that promote the interpellation of the Chief of Staff will be discussed so that he can provide explanations about his travels and his assets.
The real objective of the session is to summon the committees on Constitutional Affairs and Powers, Petitions and Regulations to rule on the interpellation projects against Adorni. Both committees are controlled by La Libertad Avanza and without the summons the opposition cannot force them to address the interpellation requests.
Getting initiatives to have an opinion is fundamental since without that regulatory step the opposition would need an aggravated two-thirds majority to be able to deal with the “on the table” projects, that is, without going through the corresponding commissions.
Esteban Paulón, one of the deputies promoting the motion of censure against Adorni
The interpellation is a prior instance in which the coordinating minister must answer questions exhaustively and, in case of not clearing up all doubts,
the possibility of moving forward with a motion of censure opens up.
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The motion of censure is a parliamentary mechanism regulated in article 101 of the National Constitution that allows the Chamber of Deputies to express its disapproval regarding the management of the Chief of Staff. It was originally conceived as a “valve of
escape” in the face of a serious political crisis that allows to stop possible abuses, errors or deviations in the management without decapitating the Executive Power. For the motion to prosper, it must be approved by an absolute majority (129 votes). If both Chambers then approve the removal,
the affected minister must submit his resignation.
It should be noted that this has never happened since the 1994 constitutional reform and Adorni himself denounced that it would represent a clear attempt to destabilize the Government.
The benches of
Unión por la Patria – which did not sign the request for a session and assures that it was not consulted – the
Frente de Izquierda and sectors of
Provincias Unidas have already made public their intentions to remove Adorni through parliamentary means. Added to these are a handful of legislators, including the former libertarian
Marcela Pagano, who even filed a criminal complaint against Adorni. But these spaces will still
have to add about twenty votes if they want to remove the Chief of Staff and, in that scenario, the governors will once again act as the deciding factor. Last week the entire Cabinet expressed its support for the Chief of Staff.
For the moment, provincial leaders are speculating about the times and sending ambiguous signals. The head of the United Provinces bloc, Gisela Scaglia, requested Adorni’s resignation but confirmed that the legislators who answer to the governor of Santa Fe, Maximiliano Pullaro, will not promote the motion of censure.
“
I don’t think we, the deputies, have to remove him. Adorni has to leave on his own. Adorni has to resign for several reasons. First, to do good for the government that he says he defends,” he said to the provincial radio “Punto a Punto (90.7 FM)”.
In the same vein, the Córdoba deputies who answer to Governor
Martín Llaryora, who are also part of the United Provinces bloc, also argue that
Adorni’s situation must be resolved by the Justice.
In addition, other spaces such as
Independencia, controlled by Governor Osvaldo Jaldo,
Elijo Catamarca, linked to Raúl Jalil, and
Innovación Federal, where Gustavo Sáenz and Carlos Rovira have a strong presence, have not shown any intention of playing all out against the Casa Rosada. Diego Santilli along with governors Alfredo Cornejo (Mendoza), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy), Martín Llaryora (Córdoba), Marcelo Orrego (San Juan), Raúl Jalil (Catamarca) and Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe)
In fact, several provincial leaders had lunch with Interior Minister Diego Santilli as part of the tour led by the General Secretary of the Presidency Karina Milei through San Juan.
“The governors and the intermittent Republicans are going to be exposed,” quipped a deputy, referring to the PRO and UCR blocs, allies of the Government.
“At this point, with the damage he is doing to the Government, I think we end up doing Milei a favor if we remove Adorni, that way he won’t have to fire him,” concluded another of the deputies who filed a criminal complaint against him.
