There is a negotiation underway that until recently was unthinkable: emissaries from Javier Milei’s government and hard-line Kirchnerism sat down to talk about how to fill the two vacancies that the Supreme Court has. The meeting was between Sebastián Amerio, current Secretary of Justice of Milei, and Juan Martín Mena, former number two of the AFI during Cristinismo and last vice minister of Justice of Alberto Fernández. In the talk, a possible exchange agreement was discussed: the Government would propose Mariano Llorens – president of the Federal Chamber of Comodoro Py – and Kirchnerism would put on the table Anabel Fernández Sagasti, senator from Mendoza and a figure of absolute trust of Cristina Kirchner.
The Court today continues to function in a reduced manner with only three members: Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz and Ricardo Lorenzetti. The unfilled vacancies are those of Elena Highton and Juan Carlos Maqueda. Previous negotiations failed: Milei’s attempt to impose Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla was buried when the documents foundered in the Senate. This time, instead of colliding with parliamentary reality, they decided to try to negotiate.
Amerio did not arrive at that meeting alone. He represents Santiago Caputo, the President’s true judicial operator. On the other hand, Mena represents institutional Kirchnerism. The idea that was considered is simple: a judge for each space. Libertarianism would stay with Llorens, Christianity with Sagasti. It also emerged that the negotiation could be extended to another key position: that of Attorney General of the Nation (see box).
The possible arrival of Anabel Fernández Sagasti to the Court has a high symbolic value for Cristina. During his two presidencies he failed to appoint any judge to the court. Sagasti is a lawyer, a member of La Cámpora, former head of the Unión por la Patria interbloc and has a direct relationship with CFK. If her application advances, she would be the first minister of the Court promoted by Christianity.
The Government’s chosen one, Mariano Llorens, has judicial experience and a direct relationship with Amerio. The problem is political: for his bill to advance, he needs two-thirds of the Senate. In the previous vote, Lijo failed to meet even the minimum. The difference this time is that Milei would be willing to negotiate, rather than impose.
Llorens would be a more digestible version for the Senate than Lijo, whose wear and tear was undeniable. However, no one guarantees that he will get the votes. If this were achieved, it would be a rarity: a judge promoted by a Government that does not have its own party structure or majority in either chamber.
The interesting thing is that in this double entry scheme—libertarian judge and Kirchnerist judge—a third variable is activated: the governors. The Senate, as of December 10, will be divided into three thirds, therefore, grouping governors will be part of the Government’s strategy because they also have the key for any agreement to reach the chamber. In their districts they are waiting for more than 200 pending judicial documents, many of them for years. If the Casa Rosada promises to speed up the appointments of federal judges, many could raise their hands. The logic is simple: having a career judge chosen by a governor is not the same as having an eternal substitute.
The vacant positions are distributed throughout the country. According to numbers from the Judicial Council, the City of Buenos Aires leads the ranking with 222 unfilled positions. They are followed by the province of Buenos Aires with 27, Santa Fe with 22, Córdoba with 13, and further down are provinces such as Mendoza, Tucumán, Salta, Chaco, Entre Ríos, Neuquén and Río Negro with between 6 and 4 vacancies.
These charges range from drug trafficking cases to local elections. For governors, it is not a minor detail.
The Council of the Judiciary, during Milei’s administration alone, sent more than 100 shortlists to the Executive so that the President could choose the candidates. But the process was stopped at the Casa Rosada. Milei could use these designations as a bargaining chip to oil his relationship with the Peronist governors and some radicals. In parallel, the idea of a broader judicial reform is being considered again. But it all depends on what is achieved in this initial negotiation.
The other position in dance is that of the attorney general. The prosecution has been intervened since Alejandra Gils Carbó resigned in 2017. Since then, Eduardo Casal has held the position on an interim basis. Kirchnerism wanted to displace him, but was unable to do so. Now the Government slips that it could negotiate this position as part of the general package.
A prosecution with someone like-minded would allow the Executive Branch to align federal prosecutors because, if the adversarial system is implemented in the federal jurisdiction, the figure of the prosecutor will become much more relevant. In parallel to this board, Milei advances with his political agenda. The Court appears as a potential obstacle to his reforms. That is why you need at least one vote that is functional for you. And Cristina, although without direct institutional power, does not want to resign herself to looking from the outside. With Sagasti he could reinsert his space in a place of power that is elusive today.
It remains to be seen if this negotiation advances or falls apart like so many others. But one thing is certain: if it closes, it will be the most unusual agreement in recent times. A pact between libertarians without structure and a Kirchnerism in retreat to define the future of the Supreme Court. Like almost everything in Argentina: unpredictable, unstable and deeply political. l
