Peronism insists on approving indefinite re-election to perpetuate itself in power

Amid the climate of institutional tension caused by the recent arrest of Cristina Kirchner and the commotion caused by the Supreme Court's ruling, Bonaerense Peronism is once again pushing its old aspiration: to reinstate indefinite reelections for provincial legislators. This Tuesday, the Senate of the Province of Buenos Aires will resume its sessions after having suspended the last call and could address the controversial bill that would allow senators and deputies to remain in power indefinitely.

The ruling party has a committee report and needs a simple majority in the chamber, something that will depend on the support it manages to obtain from some opposition sectors in order to secure a quorum. The move gains significance with less than a month before the deadline for submitting lists for the September 7 elections, in which a considerable portion of legislators from different groups will not be able to run due to the current limits.

Currently, Unión por la Patria has 21 senators out of a total of 46, but in the last attempt to move forward with the bill, the bloc showed cohesion except for Senator Sofía Vanelli from the Frente Renovador aligned with Sergio Massa. Paradoxically, her group was one of the driving forces behind the 2016 law that limits consecutive reelections.

The internal debate within Peronism itself is significant: weeks ago, a sector aligned with Kirchnerist mayors had reached a certain consensus to move forward with indefinite reelection only for legislators. However, the provincial Executive, headed by Axel Kicillof, submitted a bill that also included mayors—which triggered an internal conflict and derailed the agreement.

Although in recent hours there appears to be a beginning of alignment within Peronism, the dispute over whether or not to include municipal leaders in this reform still persists. Meanwhile, Kirchnerism hints that they are willing to address that point later, recalling that mayors have a mandate until 2027.

Lieutenant Governor Verónica Magario (former mayor of La Matanza and key figure in La Cámpora) has already formally called a session for this Tuesday. In addition to the possible vote on indefinite reelections, there is another key issue on the agenda: the appointment of judges. The Committee on Constitutional Affairs and Agreements will meet beforehand to unblock judicial nominations, in a move that could guarantee new positions for a judicial apparatus aligned with Kirchnerism.

In parallel, a meeting of the Budget Committee is also scheduled for Monday, which is key to moving forward with the provincial Executive's request to borrow up to 1.045 billion dollars. This point is also being closely watched by mayors, since it includes the possible creation of a "Municipal Investment Strengthening Fund", which would allocate 8% of the borrowing to municipalities.

However, this proposal faces resistance: the opposition rejects the idea of financing that fund with public debt. "We are willing to discuss mechanisms for municipal assistance, but not to compromise the province's fiscal future to finance clientelism," opposition legislative sources warned.