The government has sent the credentials of 45 new national and federal judges and prosecutors to the Senate, many of whom come from within the country. The government hopes that the opposition, willing to engage in dialogue, will support these candidates with their votes to ensure representation for judges from the provinces.
The list includes the names of federal judges for the province of Buenos Aires (Lomas de Zamora, San Justo, and Mar del Plata), as well as for Santa Fe, Salta, Tucumán, Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia), Catamarca, Misiones, Chaco, Corrientes (Paso de los Libres and the capital city), Mendoza, and San Juan.
Of the 45 candidates, 16 are from jurisdictions within the country and the province of Buenos Aires, while 29 are from federal and national courts, judges' offices, prosecutors' offices, or public defender's offices located in the city of Buenos Aires.
Among the most prominent candidates is Tomás Rodríguez Ponte, who served as the secretary to federal judge Ariel Lijo for 10 years and is currently the executive director of the Directorate for Judicial Assistance in Complex Crimes and Organized Crime (Dajudeco).
Ponte leads an organization that is highly sensitive, as it is responsible for monitoring telephone conversations authorized by court order, conducting forensic analysis of messages from suspects, and conducting delicate expert studies, the results of which are crucial to high-profile cases.
His name has been sent to the Senate to fill the position of federal judge number 2 in Lomas de Zamora, on an interim basis...
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The government sent to the Senate the files of 45 new national and federal judges and prosecutors, many of whom are from the interior of the country, seeking support from opposition lawmakers to approve the candidacies of individuals from various provinces. The list includes candidates for federal judgeships in Buenos Aires (Lomas de Zamora, San Justo, and Mar del Plata), as well as in Santa Fe, Salta, Tucumán, Chubut (Comodoro Rivadavia), Catamarca, Misiones, Chaco, Corrientes (Paso de los Libres and the capital city), Mendoza, and San Juan. Of the 45 files, 16 candidates are from jurisdictions in the interior of the country and the province of Buenos Aires, while 29 candidates are from federal and national courts, tribunals, prosecutors' offices, or public defender's offices located in the city of Buenos Aires. One notable candidate is Tomás Rodríguez Ponte, who served as secretary to federal judge Ariel Lijo for 10 years and is currently the executive director of the Directorate for Judicial Assistance in Complex Crimes and Organized Crime (Dajudeco). Ponte's agency is responsible for sensitive tasks such as wiretapping, forensic analysis of messages, and expert studies, and its findings are crucial in high-profile cases. He is being considered for the federal judgeship in Lomas de Zamora, currently held by Luis Armella. This court is also handling a money laundering case involving financier Ariel Vallejo, who is linked to Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia of the AFA, and involves investigations of 16 soccer clubs. The court also has jurisdiction over the Ezeiza International Airport, where cases of drug trafficking, terrorism, smuggling, and money laundering are often filed. Ponte is married to prosecutor Alejandra Mángano, who recently requested the closure of a case against Manuel Adorni regarding a trip he took with his wife, Bettina Angeletti, to New York, arguing that no crime had been committed. He is the son of a former mayor of General Lavalle. The government also proposed the reappointment of Víctor Pesino to the Labor Court, which had previously overturned a measure that suspended the implementation of the labor law reform. The list also includes candidates from provinces where opposition lawmakers had previously demanded that the government prioritize candidates from their regions in exchange for their support. This move brings the total number of candidates sent to the Senate to nearly 150 since the government took office three months ago. There are vacancies in over 35% of the courts throughout the country. Some senators from the Radical Party, dissenting Peronists, and members of the PRO party and provincial parties were skeptical of the Milei administration and had previously blocked the approval of judicial appointments. This initiative aims to secure the approval of candidates who have been agreed upon with the presidential palace to fill positions in the federal courts of their respective provinces. Senator Patricia Bullrich, leader of the ruling party's bloc, is responsible for securing these endorsements. Since President Milei appointed Minister Mahiques to fill the over 300 vacancies in the judiciary, Mahiques has maintained close contact with Bullrich, who serves as the government's main interlocutor in the Senate and is also the recipient of complaints from opposition sectors that the government needs to keep satisfied to ensure the approval of legislation. In the past, some of the initial files sent to the Senate did not receive the necessary nine signatures for consideration. Now, there are candidates from those provinces. The file of Carlos Mahiques, the father of the Minister of Justice, who is seeking to extend his term as a judge for another five years after turning 75 in November, is not subject to the same scrutiny. Hearings will continue on Wednesday and Thursday, with the presentation of the remaining 39 candidates. Some of the most controversial files, including those of Emilio Rosatti, the son of the President of the Supreme Court, Horacio Rosatti, and Laureano Durán, who some opposition blocs claim has close ties to Kirchnerism (although the ruling party denies this and points out that he later aligned himself with María Eugenia Vidal when she was governor of the province of Buenos Aires), will also be presented.