MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine opposition has majority control of both Congress houses

Former president Carlos Menem cast the decisive vote for quorum

Argentina’s opposition senators on Wednesday won majority control of all the chamber’s committees, undermining President Cristina Fernandez’s de Kirchner’s ability to pass legislation more than two years after she took office.

Each of the 37 senators present for today’s vote supported the decision. The remaining 35 senators, all members of Mrs. Kirchner’s ruling coalition, waited until the vote was over before joining the session.

“This is a sign of unity among 37 lawmakers who think differently but who are showing that we are going to be together when it comes to important issues for the country,” Senator Hilda Gonzalez de Duhalde told reporters. “We hope Congress can start to function”.

Former president Carlos Menen, and now a Senator for his province La Rioja played a crucial role in Wednesday’s session by giving the decisive vote needed for quorum, which did not happen last week when he was mysteriously absent.

“I’m here to comply with my duties”, said Menem who added, “I’ve requested to be featured in several committees”

The power shift represents the first time the opposition has taken control of both houses of Congress since 2005, when Cristina Fernandez’s husband Nestor Kirchner was president. The opposition won control of all the committees in the lower house in a vote in December. Kirchner is now a lawmaker representing the province of Buenos Aires.

Opposition leaders such as Senator Gerardo Morales said they will use their majority to reject Mrs. Kirchner’s decrees tapping 6.6 billion USD in central bank reserves to pay debt due this year and that they will work to ensure greater independence for the National Statistics Institute, the agency which publishes reports on inflation and economic growth.

Kirchnerite Miguel Ángel Pichetto complaint about the final decisions and described the move as “an arbitrary one”. He added that “I want to express that our caucus does not agree with this proposal, it just does not show proportionality”.

Mrs. Kirchner lost control of Congress in June 28 mid-term elections, after quickening inflation and a conflict with farmers over export taxes sapped her popularity. Lawmakers who were elected in June took their seats in December.