MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Senator wants federal intervention in his province

Paoltroni insisted Formosa was not an isolated case of authoritarianism

Argentine Senator Francisco Paoltroni went to Casa Rosada Monday to deliver a draft bill to President Javier Milei to impose a federal intervention in the province of Formosa and put an end to the neverending rule of Peronist Governor Gildo Insfran, who has turned the territory into virtually his private ranch: “There is no other institutional way”, the national lawmaker from Formosa explained through social media.

 Paoltroni reached his seat through Milei's La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party but went rogue, due to which he is no longer considered a member of the LLA bloc, now representing the one-man Libertad, Trabajo y Progreso force.

“Formosa is a province where all republican principles are violated and no kind of right is guaranteed, from private property to the free expression of citizens. We believe that this is the only solution to put an end to this corrupt system,” Paoltroni said in a video in front of Casa Rosada that went viral.

“There is no other institutional way to stop Insfrán's regime, characterized by deteriorated institutions, a non-existent republican system, outraged human rights, clientelism, and harassment of opponents,” he added.

The Formosa Senator parted ways with LLA in August due to “irreconcilable differences” with Presidential Advisor Santiago Caputo regarding the choice of Justice Ariel Lijo for the Supreme Court. However, he said he would still be supporting Milei. Insfrán has been ruling Formosa since 1995.

In October, the provincial Legislature passed a bill to reform the province's Constitution to guarantee Insfran's reelection for at least two more terms, amid fears that the Federal Supreme Court might rule endless back-to-back administrations unconstitutional.

However, Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni insisted that Milei's government would “not interfere with provincial decisions.”

Paoltroni argued that his province was “not an isolated case” but rather “the mother of battles against authoritarianism, freedom of expression, and the defense of the Republic.”