Like never before since he came to Government, Congress only gave Javier Milei good news these days. Not because of a particular vote, but because of how both chambers were formed. On Wednesday the 3rd, the 127 new deputies who obtained their seats in the last legislative elections were sworn in, with the particularity that 95 of them are libertarians – with last-minute passes from Macrism -, which will make them the first minority. Meanwhile, the Fuerza Patria bloc, which suffered the exodus of three Catamarca legislators in the last few hours, came second with 94.
A few days before, on Friday, November 28, it was the turn of the senators: the 23 new ones were sworn in – except for the canceled Lorena Villaverde, who will also return to her deputy seat – and the mathematics also smiles on the ruling party, which with 19 of its own seats constitutes the second force. To put it in perspective, they only had seven senators until now. And to go a little further, in 2021, when he entered politics, Milei had only two deputies: he and Victoria Villarruel.
The new arithmetic of Congress is a consequence of an election with an unexpected and plebiscitary result – more than 40 points at the national level and an unpredictable victory in the province of Buenos Aires -, which gives the Government air to shield its projects, decrees and vetoes. It does not have its own quorum, it is true, but it does have two benches whose growth is impressive if you take into account where they come from.
Milei appears emboldened. The worst mistake, however, would be to convince yourself that you no longer need to negotiate anything with anyone.
The Senate is, in that regard, the last obstacle. The 28 legislators that Peronism still has there – although six less than before the elections – are the first force and prevent the libertarians’ initiatives from being approved without having to reach a consensus with their still PRO partners or even with the opposition governors, who manage those votes remotely from their provinces. Will the Government have to catch up with the money that it has been withholding from those chiefs of the interior if it intends to impose its legislative agenda?
In politics, as Milei is learning, everything has to do with everything.
