LLA set to be first minority in lower house as new deputies take their seats

National deputies elected in the October midterms will be sworn in on Wednesday amid a shift in the lower house power balance, as ruling party La Libertad Avanza (LLA) is expected to become the largest chamber bloc after several deputies from other blocs decided to join their ranks.  The 127 deputies-elect will formally take their seats in a ceremony set to start at 1 p.m., while those ending their terms will be bid farewell. The recent moves allowed LLA to increase its total deputy number from 87 to 95 and become the first minority, allowing it to potentially block opposition bills and impeachment requests, as well as back presidential decrees. The Peronist opposition, meanwhile, is bleeding members. The most recent departure came on Tuesday, when the party’s main bloc, Fuerza Patria, lost three key deputies from Catamarca, who will create their own bloc. After coming out of the October midterm elections with 98 members and first minority status, the bloc has dwindled to 93. The tables started to turn after the elections when several deputies from right-wing PRO — LLA’s main ally, which was left significantly overshadowed by the ruling party — as well as former members of the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) that had been strongly backing President Javier Milei since last year decided to leave their blocs and join LLA. On Tuesday, LLA lower house bloc leader Gabriel Bornoroni announced their most recent addition: Francisco Morchio, a lawmaker who previously belonged to the center-bloc Encuentro Federal. “With [Morchio’s] valuable contribution, we will become the first minority, allowing us to continue to strongly push the ideas of freedom, leaving behind the Kirchnerist populism that has damaged our country so much,” Bornoroni tweeted. The Peronist getaways On Tuesday, three Peronist deputies from Catamarca — Fernanda Ávila, Sebastián Nóblega, and Fernando Monguillot — formally created their own new bloc, Elijo Catamarca. The three deputies respond to Catamarca governor Raúl Jalil, who has been part of the so-called “friendly opposition” backing some of Milei’s proposals. In November, deputies-elect Javier Noguera (Tucumán) and Jorge “Gato” Fernández (San Luis) also jumped ship. Fernández said he would no longer be part of Fuerza Patria because the bloc had become “too Kirchnerist,” although it remains unclear which bloc he will join. Noguera will be part of Independencia, a separate Peronist bloc loyal to Tucumán governor Osvaldo Jaldo. According to Herald sister publication Ámbito, Independencia could potentially ally with the three Catamarca deputies and País Federal, a bloc made up of deputies that respond to governors Gustavo Sáenz (Salta) and Hugo Passalacqua (Misiones). The ruling party could see its support grow further as former Libertarian deputies who are now part of small blocs Coherencia and MID are in negotiations to join some larger blocs allied to the administration.