MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Congress paralyzed; senators summoned by the press

Vice President Julio Cobos is acting president so he won’t be presiding over Wednesday session

Argentine Vice-President and Senate head Julio Cobos published a paid ad in the Monday edition of a Buenos Aires newspaper, where he summons those senators who had been absent to last week's session as a way of exerting pressure for next Wednesday round of debate in the Upper House.

The Argentine Congress is paralyzed since pro-government Senators have impeded anti-Kirchnerite lawmakers from reaching quorum in both houses where very sensitive topics for the government are to be addressed.

The threat of discount a 20% of the senators' salaries is also featured in the release. Jose Pampuro as the head of the Senate for these days has to decide whether to accuse those absent or not.

As it states, the paid ad appears on page 7 of Clarín newspaper and carries the signature of Juan Estrada, Parliament Secretary. It also transcripts part of the 27 and 28 articles of the Senate statute.

The lines which point out who are the senators on the spotlight for having been absent also deals with Cobos previous warning about reducing the lawmakers' salaries by 20%. It explained that ”those senators who had not been present during the last two sessions (which were on March 17th and April 7th) and who decide to be absent to this week's session as well are to face a 20% salary-reduction.“

By the means, the Senate head officially calls for a session ”at 2:00pm” this Wednesday, to deal with the agenda which had been approved of for last week's session. On the two occasions the opposition in spite of having a majority was unable to reach the 37 vote quorum needed for a session. The closest was 36.

But in spite of Cobos' move, another actor appears in the Parliamentary scene since the Vice President has been left in charge of the Argentine presidency due to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner participation in the Washington Nuclear Summit.

Peronist Senator José Pampuro is pro-government and will be the leading next Wednesday's session. So, Pampuro will have to decide whether to put Cobos's parliamentary decree in motion or not: whether to use the media as a tool to accuse those lawmakers who decide to be absent from the next session.

Since Mrs. Kirchner and her husband Deputy Néstor Kirchner have travelled to Washington, cabinet chief Aníbal Fernández has been left in charge of the political monitoring.

The Lower House is to hold a session Tuesday to debate on the rejection of the DNU emergency decree 298/10 which allows the government to use the Central Bank reserves to service public debt.

On Wednesday the Upper House turn, when Pampuro will lead the session, is expected to focus on the federal revenue sharing cheque tax law amendment which the Kirchner administration has threatened to abolish if modified.