The Supreme Court impeachment trial of Justice promoted by the president Alberto Fernandez began to show some effects contrary to what I initially expected. On one hand, the resistance of a group of Peronist governors exposes a division in the Frente de Todos and, on the other, the opposition closes ranks and will avoid entering into contradictions to which the ruling party tries to take it.
From the start, the President’s move tried to unify the different sectors of the Frente de Todos. To do this, he stood on two central axes: the “defense of federalism” before the ruling of the Court that ordered the return of co-participating funds to the City of Buenos Aires and the investigation of a way of acting by the highest court that, in the opinion of the ruling party, implies a “interference” in the other powers of the State.
The first axis tries to gather all the governorsespecially those of the PJ, while the The second responds to the expressed discomfort of Vice President Cristina Kirchner Faced with the decision of the Court that restored the repealed law of the Council of the Magistracy and then annulled the division of the ruling bloc of the Senate, two issues that are the responsibility of the Legislative Power, according to Kirchnerism.
However, The claim to unify all Peronism under the same flag collided with the refusal of four governors who make up the Frente de Todos to accompany the request for impeachment that will begin to be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies in the framework of the extraordinary sessions that will be convened, as anticipated by iProfessional, for the second half of January.
The decision of Omar Perotti (Santa Fe), Sergio Unac (Saint John) and Alberto Rodriguez Saa (St. Louis) to stand aside and the distance it took Gustavo Bordet (Entre Ríos), who until now was one of those closest to Fernández, He exhibited a division in the Frente de Todos that the Government is now trying to correct with efforts against the clock so that they review their position.
Impeachment of the Court: what does the distancing of pro-government governors imply?
The presentation of a request for impeachment against judges Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, Juan Carlos Maqueda and Ricardo Lorenzetti had arisen, precisely, from the governors who met with the President at the end of December, after the ruling of the Court for the sharing. However, not everyone pushed that idea with the same emphasis.
Four governors of the Frente de Todos are distant and exhibit a fissure in the ruling party
The most interested were the chaco Jorge Capitanich and the santiagueño Gerardo Zamora. Both have frequent dialogue with Cristina Kirchner and, according to different sources from the ruling party consulted by iProfessional, have national aspirations facing the elections that are pending resolution and for which the word of the vice president could be essential.
The distance that Perotti, Uñac and Rodríguez Saá maintain is uncomfortable for the ruling party, but the biggest surprise was Bordet’s position. After his signature appeared on the official statement on the impeachment trial, the governor ordered his collaborators to spread the word that I had not signed. The explanation of the presidential spokesperson, Gabriela Cerruti, was that she “repented or changed her mind.”
In the Casa Rosada they hope to convince him in the next few days to accompany the impeachment request. The underlying interest is to prevent the ruling party from starting the debate in the Impeachment Commission from a position of weakness that Together for Change will try to exploit. pointing out that the ruling party has little support and less than what it said it had at the beginning.
In addition, although in the Frente de Todos they know that they will not reach a two-thirds majority to approve the project in the venue and their underlying objective is to generate a scenario in the Impeachment Commission to reinforce criticism against the Court and issue summonses and requests for test measures, the wayward governors can subtract even more votesin addition to the possible implications that you may have for the ruling party ahead of the national elections.
The opposition closes ranks: what do they say in the Civic Coalition about their own fight with Lorenzetti?
To this is added that the other purpose pursued by the ruling party with the opening of the debate in the Impeachment Commission is try to put Together for Change in a contradiction and deepen their own internal divisions.
The president of that body, Caroline Gaillardmade that intention clear when recalling this Thursday in radio statements that the bloc of the civic coalition has filed a request for impeachment against Lorenzetti and that the vice president of the commission is Juan Manuel Lopez, leader close to Carrió. However, this leg of the plan could also fail.
Together for Change closed ranks and the Civic Coalition prepares to resist the ruling party
In dialogue with iProfessional, López pointed out: “They are trying to make us uncomfortable, but we are calm. The project of the ruling party and the impeachment of Lorenzetti are separate files.” The deputy affirmed that the Civic Coalition “is not going to cancel the impeachment of Lorenzettibeyond what the ruling party does”.
“Them they want to squeeze the Court as a wholewith causes that are inappropriate”, stressed the deputy. In this way, López suggested that the Frente de Todos will not be able to divide Together for Change in the commission and, in addition, he finished: “I don’t believe they seriously want to go against Lorenzetti”.
Non-party governors: will the ruling party be able to convince them?
In addition to the attempt to convince the wayward governors of the Frente de Todos, the Government also try to get support of those who represent provincial parties. Is about Arabela Carreras (Black river), Oscar Herrera Ahuad (Missions), Gustavo Saenz (jumps) and Omar Gutierrez (Neuquén), who also did not sign the request for impeachment.
Parliamentary sources consulted by iProfesional slipped that the ruling party has a chance of adding, at least, Carreras and Ahuad, since both Juntos Somos Río Negro and the missionary Frente Renovador de la Concordia tend to vote with the ruling party in Deputies and are the allies that guarantee a quorum in the Senate. In fact, the senator and leader from Río Negro Alberto Weretilneck voted in favor of the truncated project to reform the Court in 2022.
However, the position held by Uñac, Rodríguez Saá and Perotti may be a counterweight to this eventual support, given that the three have had gestures of autonomy in recent times annoying for the ruling party both in Congress and outside of it.
Months ago, Rodriguez Saa sent his senator María Eugenia Catalfamo to vote against the Kirchnerist project to expand the Court that had been endorsed by the same governors who are now pushing for impeachment.
Perotti, meanwhile, has been upset with the Government for quite some time and the authorities of the Frente de Todos in Deputies to such an extent that in December, during the last failed attempt by the ruling party to hold a session, deputy Roberto Mirabella, a close collaborator of the governor, withdrew angrily and did not help the bloc with a quorum.
While, Uñac has a strong dispute with the former governor and current second vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, Jose Luis Giojawho will try to compete with him in the provincial elections through a slogan and, as expected, with the support of pure Kirchnerism.
