The Senate was pierced by internal disputes and the PASO primaries: what is at stake and the backing of allies for Bullrich

Ruling party and opposition legislators during the last session held by the upper chamber at the end of last month (Senate Press) Tomorrow, Congress enters the final fortnight of ordinary sessions, with a Milei administration that has stirred up the Senate over the last 72 hours not only because of the pending agenda, but also because of the —somewhat— surprising addition of a potential suspension of the PASO primaries and an internal struggle that is suffocating for the libertarian Executive, but not for its leader in the upper chamber, Patricia Bullrich (Federal Capital), who enjoys broad backing from allies who prefer her word to that of the Casa Rosada. The chamber has become a war prize at the most delicate moment of the legislative calendar, with the 2027 Budget at stake and still seeking a committee report in the Chamber of Deputies. The casualness with which Balcarce 50 mentions the Primaries is far removed from the ambitious reform presented months ago by the central administration. The initiative has accumulated a string of frustrated operations, full of low-level maneuvering, that for long weeks announced a law passed with votes to spare —it requires 37, since electoral matters are being modified— before October ended. The messages from the Senate were never heard, clear as they were, and the endorsements, at best, reached 31 or 32. It is not impossible to achieve what is needed, although everything will "cost," and the "first I want mine" —without the negative connotation, of course— will echo loudly. That is politics. That bill contains sensitive items regarding the Single Paper Ballot —such as the complete list—; the potential addition of accumulator lists, which the Government itself floated as a trial balloon —if there is one, do they reach an agreement with the PRO, the UCR, or local forces for national legislators?—; private financing; a possible farewell to the presidential debate; and nothing less than Ficha Limpia. Does the Executive know that next Tuesday, when the Constitutional Affairs committee meets, there will be allies pushing for a report on the last point, whether or not the PASO issue moves forward? While it is true that the bill's text has been in the upper chamber for months, there has been no real exchange on its technical details. Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli Under this scenario, the question is whether the dialogue-minded legislators, who seem to find in Bullrich the only interlocutor with common sense —and who honors her given word, as most blocs acknowledged to Infobae—, will hand the libertarians, in the blink of an eye, the suspension of the Primaries and nothing more. This equation does not seem to add up in several offices, although the current administration has indeed managed to differentiate itself from previous governments, in every sense. In a few hours it will be confirmed whether this holds, or whether, once again, the Legislative Palace fills with smoke. How are the negotiations going? Just as happened with the cold zones issue and, at the insistence of the central government, the Buenos Aires mayor's office delegated the goal to Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli. It did not go badly for the official, since the law floated through when nobody thought it possible. However, with the electoral initiative there is much more at stake. There, once again, the governors come in. But they are not enough, and that is why the former Security Minister is needed, who is willing to close the remaining loose votes. A good moment to recall the importance of having secured the extra help of the Vice President and President of the upper chamber, Victoria Villarruel. Scanning the moved-up provincial elections, one senses an incipient seed of consensus between the Nation and allied governors —two in particular, who already have a draft in hand—, who do not have a presidential candidate, not even remotely. What remains is the rest of Peronism, which is still mulling whether it suits it to subsume itself into Kirchnerism, barely three years after leaving power. By holding the elections earlier, the path would indicate Mileiism without heavyweight candidates —or none at all— in the "friendly" districts, despite the distrust arriving from various points of the country. The test will be in Neuquén, which moved ahead of everyone and decides in February. Patricia Bullrich and Javier Milei, with an increasingly tense relationship In case of conflict, the year would be a long one for the libertarians in Congress. If the opposite happens, the harmony will continue. And from there will come the transcendental question: how will the lists for deputies be assembled, and in the provinces where national senators are elected? A veteran rider of legislative escapades summed it up this way: "If the libertarians take the majority of the slates, the governors will be left with nothing. If they call them little now, later it will be never again. There lies the key, and nobody knows how that will be settled." A final window. Bullrich is not interested in breaking ranks, nor is it her intention. Most people look at the "dissidences," but few notice the times she was the first to back Javier Milei when it was necessary. The most incredible and amusing thing of all: wanting to shoo the former minister away with flip-flop slaps. As if they did not know where she came from and what she lived through in more than 50 years of doing politics. In the coming days, the full Senate would be in a position to pass the disability law that the Casa Rosada itself agreed upon with the friendly opposition and with the Kirchnerists —that is, it conceded—, with the aim of not damaging the image of the president of the lower chamber, Martín Menem. Now, the 2027 Budget is coming up, unless the Executive prefers to shelve the discussion and extend the current one, as some dialogue-minded legislators believe. The next two weeks will be interesting; so will the wretched ones that will be laid bare for all to see, including the market. The Justicialist branches, meanwhile, remain mired in matinee squabbles instead of going after power.