Three UCR deputies break ranks to join libertarian bloc

Argentina’s ruling party, La Libertad Avanza, has incorporated three deputies from the center-right Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) party, meaning the libertarian bloc in the lower house is now just five members shy of being the largest. The newcomers are Mariano Campero from Tucumán, Luis Picat from Córdoba, and José Tournier from Corrientes. They were elected to Congress after the 2023 elections. UCR members are usually called radicales (radicals). The congressmen who turned to the libertarian party were dubbed “radicals in wigs,” in reference to President Javier Milei’s trademark hairdo, after backing several of his initiatives. They voted to uphold sensitive presidential vetoes blocking funding raises for pensions and universities. These additions mean Milei’s bloc in the Chamber of Deputies will consist of 91 members after December 10, when lawmakers elected in the October midterms take their seats. The Peronist bloc, Fuerza Patria, will remain the largest with 96 seats. It would have had 98, but last week, Tucumán’s Javier Noguera and San Luis’ Jorge “Gato” Fernández jumped ship. Noguera will be part of Independencia, a dissident Peronist bloc that responds to provincial governor Osvaldo Jaldo and backed Milei’s vetoes. Fernández said he would no longer be part of Fuerza Patria because the bloc had become “too Kirchnerist.” Breaking ranks In September 2024, the UCR announced it was temporarily suspending four of its deputies and referring them to its ethics committee over potential misconduct after they broke ranks to uphold Milei’s veto on pension funding. Those deputies included Campero and Picat, as well as Martín Arjol and Pablo Cervi. Tournier was not sanctioned, despite being part of the UCR bloc, because he was not formally affiliated with the party. Meanwhile, the president’s communications team hailed the 87 lawmakers who voted to uphold the veto as patriots who endorsed the government’s policy of fiscal balance at any cost. Until that point, Milei had relied mainly on his own deputies and the right-wing PRO party for support, and the support of that small group of UCR lawmakers proved key to delivering his agenda. The 87 lawmakers were received at the Quinta de Olivos presidential residence for an asado to thank them for their support. The lower house upholding the veto was a watershed moment for the government because it showed that the president was able to block legislation and defend attempts to overturn vetoes, despite holding a tiny minority in Congress.  Milei plans to push “second-generation reforms” in the second half of his presidential term, which he says include labor, pension, and tax overhauls. He is expected to call extraordinary sessions during the summer, when Congress is usually in recess, showing that the government views these bills as urgent.