Congress: doubts about the void created by Guillermo Francos in a critical week

This week the Government loses its main political articulator with governors and with the Congress since the hospitalization of Guillermo Francos due to gastroenteritis. The Chief of Staff is progressing favorably and yesterday received a visit from Lisandro Catalanhis right-hand man and Secretary of the Interior, at the clinic in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Belgrano where he is undergoing treatment. Today he will receive his doctor to evaluate his discharge.

Franks74 years old, will have to remain under medical observation and in Casa Rosada, in response to the consultation of Scopedid not offer any certainty about the imminent return of the Chief of Staff to his duties. His office also does not want to anticipate any changes and is awaiting medical instructions from the clinic.

“He is fine. The doctor has to see him and decide”explained one of his closest collaborators. Those around him also denied that the preventive isolation of Franks is due to differences with officials close to the President.

The official had scheduled a meeting at Casa Rosada this Monday at 12 with Martín Menem, and the leaders of the House of Representatives bloc, Gabriel Bornoroni (La Libertad Avanza) and Cristian Ritondo (PRO)The meeting takes place in the midst of tension with Mauricio Macri for his criticism of the lack of leadership of the ruling party in the lower house and his attempt to displace Menem of the presidency of the House of Representatives.

Guillermo Francos’ health

The health picture of Franks The situation worsened over the weekend after the presentation of the management report he made in the Chamber of Deputies and amid strong internal political pressure due to the defeats that the opposition inflicted on him. Javier Milei in Congress.

Franks He was appointed head of the cabinet after the departure of Nicholas Posse and in recognition of their ability to dialogue and coordinate with the governors in parliament, where La Libertad Avanza achieved the approval of the Bases law and the survival of DNU 70/2023, which deregulates the economy.

That is why the temporary resignation of the Chief of Staff is so sensitive. The political vacuum left by his absence is now a new front to be resolved by the interim government that will be in office. Catalan in tandem with Karina Milei and Martín Menem to oil the legislative strategy in a critical week for Javier Milei in Congress.

Next Wednesday, the opposition will try to enable, on the table, with two thirds of the votes present, the treatment of the presidential veto on retirement mobility. If they do not achieve that number, which would also leave them in a position to vote against the veto, they will be able to summon the Budget and Finance Committee of Jose Luis Espert to address the treatment of the veto in order to obtain the opinion that must also be passed on to the Social Security and Provisions Committee for signature.

Overview in Congress

In it Senate The outlook is also complicated for the Pink HouseThe opposition has the majority to pass the educational financing project into law.

The President has already announced that he will veto this initiative, which requires increasing the allocations for universities and establishes a bi-monthly update. The argument, as with the veto on pension mobility, is to preserve fiscal balance.

But in addition to forcing a new veto of the Presidentthe Senate is also preparing for a historic event: the first rejection by both Houses of a DNU.

This is the decree of necessity and urgency that grants $100 billion reserved to the SIDE and which was already voted against in the House of Representatives, even by PRO legislators.

This hostile scenario for La Libertad Avanza is what Francos had to manage with the governors and in the midst of a tense climate with the PRO due to the support of senators from that party for the retirement mobility law.

In an increasingly limited framework of allies in Congress, Ritondo I was going to introduce you today to Franks his public complaint about another decree of Mileiwhich limits the law on access to public information.

In tension with the PRO both in Deputies as in the Senateand in the midst of an internal purge after the expulsion of Lourdes Arrieta and Francisco PaoltroniLa Libertad Avanza must also prepare the ground for Milei’s landing next Monday in the House of Representatives where he will present the 2025 Budget together with Espert.

In parallel, the Budget 2025 It operates as a black hole that invisibly absorbs all the political negotiations of Congress that the governors maintain with the Pink House for funds for their districts. Between games, absences, abstentions and votes to veto retirement mobility are also discussed.

The deaf claims of provincial leaders for public works, transportation, education and healthas well as the debts of the Nation with the pension funds not transferred, also explain the complicated scenario that the ruling party faces in Congress.