In dialogue with Cenital, the legislator Marcela Pagano He referred to his archenemy Lilia Lemoine. “He always believed that I was a facilitator of Javier Milei knew Fatima Florezfor example,” said the deputy of the Coherence bloc, implying that the libertarian parliamentarian thinks that the romance that was maintained between the president and the artist was due to the initiatives of the former journalist. Next, in the same note, Pagano confessed that Lemoine “wanted to have dinner with the father of my two children”, but clarified that “he was not that fortunate.”
The political and personal relationship between both legislators went through a progressive escalation of tensions from its beginnings in the La Libertad Avanza space that ended up leading to an explicit political rupture, with episodes that combined power disputes, public accusations and direct confrontations inside and outside Congress. The first chapter of the confrontation dates back to the beginning of 2024, in the context of the dispute for control of the strategic Impeachment Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. There a direct rivalry emerged between both legislators, with Lemoine questioning Pagano’s appointment and revealing personal and political tensions.
That dispute was not isolated. The internal dispute by the commission led to a major crisis within the libertarian bloc, with the displacement of authorities and the first fracture of the official space in Congress. In this context, two lines began to consolidate: one more aligned with the political leadership of Karina Milei and Martín Menem, where Lemoine was located, and another where Pagano began to show autonomy, especially in institutional and parliamentary issues.
During 2025, the conflict deepened and moved to the compound. One of the most significant episodes occurred in a key session in the Deputies, when Pagano decided to give a quorum to enable the treatment of projects promoted by the opposition, including initiatives on university financing and fiscal issues resisted by the Executive. That decision generated an immediate reaction from Lemoine, who publicly accused her of betraying space and launched a phrase that marked a breaking point: “Why don’t you form a bloc together with the K…?”
Along the same lines, Lemoine reinforced his questions by maintaining that Pagano “officially is there, but we know that deep down he is not there,” insinuating a de facto political rupture within the ruling bloc. The accusation of “playing for the opposition” has since become a recurring theme in the attacks between the two. The climate of confrontation reached one of its peaks during parliamentary sessions marked by political scandals, such as the debate linked to the case known as “$LIBRA”, where internal tension led to face-to-face discussions within the chamber.
However, the most violent and symbolic episode of the rupture occurred in August 2025, during a session in the Chamber of Deputies marked by the scandal of alleged bribes in the National Disability Agency (ANDIS), which involved officials close to the ruling party. In this context, Pagano took the floor to question the Chief of StaffGuillermo Francos, and leaders linked to the power environment, while Lemoine and other pro-government deputies began to interrupt her and record her with their phones.
The situation escalated quickly: Lemoine shouted “Traitor!” in the middle of the venue, while Pagano responded to the shouts “Go to your bench!”, in an exchange that forced the session to be interrupted. The episode included cross accusations about corruption, references to the case of Diego Spagnuolo and questions about the role of figures such as Martin Menem and other members of the ruling party.
This confrontation marked the final break. Pagano, along with other legislators such as Carlos D’Alessandroended up moving away from the block Freedom Advances, denouncing internal irregularities, political pressures and top-down leadership. Among the names indicated in that process appear Martin Menemas president of the Chamber, and Guillermo Francos, as political articulator of the government, in addition to references to operators linked to sensitive areas of the State.
The background to Pagano’s departure combines political and institutional factors. On the one hand, differences over the functioning of Congress and the role of the ruling party in relation to opposition projects; on the other, complaints of irregular management and disputes over spaces of power within the bloc. Added to this are personal tensions with figures like Lemoine, who acted as one of the main spokespersons for internal criticism of the former journalist.
In perspective, the bond between both legislators evolved from an initial competition for prominence within the libertarian space to becoming an open confrontation that reflected the deepest fractures of the ruling party. The verbal exchanges, public accusations and episodes of high tension in the room not only exposed individual differences, but also revealed the difficulties of internal cohesion in a political space that, since coming to power, faced recurring conflicts between its own leaders.
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