Was it a good decision for the ruling party to postpone the Senate’s treatment of the Bases and Fiscal laws for a week? The more time that passes between the signing of the opinion and the session, senators and governors are likely to get more things out of the government. Some senators may have health issues, such as a mother undergoing surgery, which could give them more time to gain an advantage in negotiations. Politics is a transactional activity: what one gains, the other loses. The government wanted to make a revolution with a DNU and an omnibus law but ended up accepting what Congress wanted and could deliver.
The project that will be discussed is tailored to the weaknesses of the government’s origins – few votes, no party, no legislators, no senators, with a foreign program and with a “Frankenstein” cabinet. Guillermo Francos, Daniel Scioli, Patricia Bullrich, Luis Petri, and Luis Caputo all have experience in parliamentary life and play as dialogical opposition. They are responsible for negotiating the treatment of the final section of the Base laws and tax reform. Both believe that they must be given tools to prove if they can govern.
Senator Juan Carlos Romero is responsible for obtaining signatures for a majority opinion on two projects – “Los 39” – while Pichetto guarantees their promise that the Chamber of Deputies will endorse all modifications made by the Senate. The first version ended badly in debate despite having 144 votes in favor because it did not satisfy half of those who signed in dissent. Clauses such as privatizations or labor reform may cause endless debates during negotiations behind closed doors until June 10th or 13th when changes will be made public.
