A scandal broke out today in the Impeachment Commission of the Chamber of Deputies when, in a unprecedented decisionthe president of the body, Martin Menemdecided at the last minute and in an untimely manner to suspend the constitution of the body to prevent the deputy and journalist Marcela Pagano assumed as its owner. Menem’s move, however, did not prosper: with the regulatory quorum to meet, the commission was formed the same and, with the vote of the majority of the opposition blocs, Pagano took over as president. However, Menem ignores it and made a new call for next Thursday.
Representative Pagano’s nomination was promoted by the president of the libertarian bloc, Oscar Zago, present at the commission meeting. lThe war between Zago and Menem – a side of the general secretary of the presidency, Karina Milei-, is open and threatens a breakup in the bench. Parliamentary sources from the libertarian circle slip that it was Karina Milei who ordered Menem to disavow Zago and, by osmosis, prevent Pagano from becoming president of the commission.
Zago’s reaction was immediate. After the meeting, the head of the libertarian bloc charged against Menem and he emphasized that Pagano’s nomination had the endorsement of President Milei himself when, last Saturday, he informed him of the makeup and authorities of the different House committees. “The president gave me the OK. I only respond to the president and no other person, be it a minister or the general secretary of the presidency.he emphasized.
Zago warned that the president of the lower house does not have the power, according to the body’s regulations, to suspend the call to a commission. Not only that: he also attacked the libertarian legislators who, in agreement with Menem, sought to prevent Pagano from assuming ownership of that body. He targeted the deputies Leandro Almirón, Nicolás Mayoraz and Lilia Lemoine, who left the meeting when the remaining members of the commission supported the nomination of the libertarian deputy.
“They acted as a sleeve of irresponsible because, by not knowing the regulations, We could have lost the presidency of a strategic commission such as the Political Judgment Commission, the most important after the Budget, in the hands of Kirchnerism”, he reproached.
The conflict promises to escalate as the days go by. Not satisfied with having tried to boycott the commission – without success -, Menem made a new call to the Impeachment Commission for next Thursday to define their authorities, ignoring what was agreed this morning.
“There will not be a quorum. The commission is constituted and its authorities defined,” Zago replied. As things stand, the presidency will remain in the hands of Pagano, the vice presidency will go to Paula Oliveto (We make the Federal Coalition) and the second vice presidency for Leopoldo Moreau (Union for the Homeland).
Added to the scandal that arose behind the scenes of the Impeachment Commission was that, in a decision as unprecedented as it was arbitrary, The president of the Chamber decided to interrupt the transmission of the meeting of the Impeachment Commission when it was in full debate; Likewise, the link with the fragment that was broadcast on the YouTube channel was removed. The spokespersons for the president of the body argued that, since the commission meeting had been suspended by order of the president, it was decided to cut the transmission. Yesterday, Menem did the same with the transmission of the meeting organized by the opposition to debate DNU 70/23 with the presence of specialists.
The unprecedented thing about the debate in the Impeachment Commission is that the ruling party itself, in the voice of Zago, admitted not knowing the reasons why Menem suspended the meeting. “We found out two minutes before entering the commission,” said the spokespersons for the president of the bloc. The opponents also expressed their surprise at the untimely decision of the president of the Chamber. “Menem acted in a combination of arrogance and ignorance,” reproached a radical deputy who participated in the meeting.
The news of the suspension was known three minutes before the start time of the meeting. In fact, the deputies of La Libertad Avanza were present from the beginning. The head of the Union for the Homeland bloc, German Martinez, He took the word.
“It cannot be understood how a commission on the timing of the constitution itself is suspended. If it is a matter of force majeure it would be understandable, (but) we are in a quorum, we have half plus one of the members, and the fact that we find out already sitting here by an email to the office, speaks clearly of the difficulties we have for the functioning of the Chamber of Deputies. And we want to make that clear in a transcendent commission such as the Political Trial Commission,” he said.
The radical Fernando Carbajal expressed himself along the same lines and targeted Menem by warning of his “concern about the institutional degradation to which this Congress is being subjected.”
“The truth is that it is a shame and a political maneuver of what you said you were coming to change… of the lowest order,” he said. And he added: “If you have internal problems, have an internal discussion, but do not subject the National Congress to this mistreatment and this decline in institutional quality.”
Immediately afterwards, the deputy Emilio Monzo -former president of the Lower House- took the floor and emphasized that if the body met a sufficient quorum, nothing prevented it from being established. Indeed, that happened and she openly challenged the president of the House, Pagano was appointed president of the commission.