Accompanied by a locksmith, Fueguina López attempted to forcibly take over someone else's office and ended up alleging a blockade and a supposed assault
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The National Senate once again became the scene of a political scandal that revives practices from the recent past. In the context of Decree 488/25, through which Vice President Victoria Villarruel ordered an internal reorganization process to reassign the offices of senators whose terms have ended, legislator Kirchnerist Cándida López, from Tierra del Fuego, was involved in an incident that required the intervention of the upper house's security staff.
The episode, images of which circulated widely among Congress employees, took place in an office on the fourth floor. López arrived accompanied by her husband, Ushuaia councilman Juan Carlos Pino, and a locksmith, with the intention—according to various legislative sources—of forcing entry into the office belonging to Salta senator José Leavy, whose term ends on December 10.
Puerta del despacho.
The sequence began when the locksmith hired by López attempted to force the office's lock. Security staff immediately intervened to prevent further action and enforce the decree signed by Villarruel. The situation escalated quickly.
Witnesses and videos confirm that there were shoves by the senator and her husband against the chamber's staff. In one of the recordings, Pino can be seen shouting: "Don't touch the senator," to which an officer responds: "No one touches the senator." Meanwhile, López ordered a collaborator: "Call Juliana," referring to Kirchnerist senator Juliana Di Tullio, who later arrived at the scene.
Another video shows security staff attempting to remove the locksmith from the premises, while Pino reappears carrying the toolbox to facilitate the maneuver. According to López's spokespersons, the objective was to recover personal belongings—including her computer—that had allegedly been left in the office. However, Senate officials maintain that the legislator attempted to usurp the office, taking advantage of Leavy's term ending.
López's aides claim that Leavy had given up the office through an arrangement by Chubut senator Carlos Linares, and that the legislator had already occupied the office for two weeks. Nevertheless, other legislative sources categorically deny that version. They point out that Leavy intended to hand over his office to fellow Salta native Flavia Royón, who ultimately obtained another office given up by Juan Carlos Romero. The Office of the Presidency, following the reorganization protocol, had arranged the redistribution in accordance with the current decree.
Puerta del despacho.
The episode is not isolated: last Friday, after the swearing-in in which López entered with nine companions, she was involved in a first failed attempt to occupy Leavy's office, which also ended with scuffles and the intervention of Di Tullio and the head of the Kirchnerist bloc, José Mayans.
After more than two hours of discussions, López and her entourage demanded the presence of the Senate's physician to certify an alleged assault. The physician found only a small bruise on one of the senator's ankles, but clarified that he could not determine whether it was a caused injury, something that falls under the jurisdiction of a forensic doctor.
Finally, unable to prevail over the regulations and institutional security, López, Pino, and Di Tullio left the office without being able to occupy it.
