MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei's LLA gets to appoint 2nd in line to Casa Rosda lawmaker

Villarruel was praised for brokering a majority vote with no help from Peronism

President Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza (LLA) Wednesday managed to get Senator Bartolomé Abdala from the province of San Luis elected Provisional Speaker of the Upper House. The lawmaker thus became second in line to the Casa Rosada behind Vice President Victoria Villarruel, who was praised for her political skills brokering a majority with no help from Peronism to garner 39 votes in favor of Abdala and 29 abstentions with no negative voices.

The opposition Frente de Todos (FdT) bloc claimed Wednesday's session was illegal after the 2023 legislature expired on Nov. 30 but Villarruel recalled that under the Constitution both Houses of Congress may self convene. In any case, the FdT has been reduced to the first minority within the Senate with 33 seats out of 72.

Also supporting Abdala besides LLA were the Radical Civic Union (UCR), Frente PRO, Cambio Federal, Unidad Federal, Por Santa Cruz, Partido por la Justicia Social, Juntos Somos Río Negro, and Frente Renovador de la Concordia Social from Misiones.

Senators Carolina Losada (Santa Fe - UCR) and Alejandra Vigo (Córdoba - Dissident Peronism) were chosen first and second provisional speakers respectively. LLA also grabbed most of the seats in the Upper House's 46 committees.

Villarruel was also granted the possibility of forming the committees according to the proportionality voted Wednesday. Each 19-member committee will have 11 senators from the parties supporting Abdala and each 17-member committee will have 10 representatives from said coalition.