LLA gains senate presence as Peronism continues to bleed lawmakers

Peronism is losing three senators while ruling party La Libertad Avanza (LLA) is gaining one, a move that closes the gap between the two and brings LLA and its allies closer to the crucial number required to pass bills and resolutions in the upper house.  On Monday, three Peronist senators left what is known as an interbloc — a group of ally blocs — leaving it with 25 lawmakers. The defectors are Sandra Mendoza (Tucumán), Guillermo Andrada (Catamarca), and Carolina Moisés (Jujuy).  The three are aligned with Peronist governors who are known to be on good terms and open to negotiations with President Javier Milei (the first two are close to their provincial leaders, while Moisés has ties to Salta Governor Gustavo Sáenz). Moisés will lead their new bloc, called Convicción Federal. The development takes place against the backdrop of accusations that those governors helped Milei approve the labor reform in the lower house. The departing senators have also questioned former President Cristina Kirchner and her leadership within Peronism. In a statement, the departing senators questioned Mayans’ decision to avoid joining senate commissions to protest the labor reform, saying that this left room for the ruling party to operate to their liking.  “That is parliamentary malpractice, which leaves Peronism inactive.” However, they clarified they will not join LLA. “We are not Libertarian, we won’t go with Milei, and we are critics of his economic plan.” The Peronist interbloc now has 25 senators, down three from the 28 it had in December. Of that total, 21 are from the Justicialista bloc, led by José Mayans, while the remaining members are Gerardo Zamora and Elisa del Carmen Moreno (Santiago del Estero), as well as Fernando Salino (San Luis) and Jesús Rejal (La Rioja). LLA, meanwhile, will gain an additional senator. Luis Juez (Córdoba) recently announced that he will join the ruling party’s bloc, a formal commitment to the government’s legislative force after leaving the PRO bloc in December to become a sole-member bloc allied with the ruling party’s.  The move takes LLA’s senate bloc count to 21 and its interbloc number — LLA plus its allies PRO and UCR — to 44. Peronism will be at its lowest number in the Senate since the return of democracy in 1983. Although they will formally remain as the largest interbloc, LLA and its allies are now close to making up two-thirds of the chamber (48 senators), a crucial threshold for passing major bills or rejecting an impeachment against Milei.