Miley’s coalition elects President of the Argentine Senate

Senator Bartolomé Abdallah (La Libertad Avanza) was appointed on Wednesday (December 13, 2023) as interim President of the Argentine Senate. During the session chaired by Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarroel, nominations for the main secretariats were also approved, in addition to the distribution of committees. Information from the newspaper Clarin.

The appointment was made according to agreements between Deputy Javier Miley, who heads the Senate, and the opposition blocs. However, 29 Peronist members of the All Front coalition abstained from voting, refusing to participate in the session and claiming it was just that. “Illegal, illegal and unconstitutional”.

In the first session in 6 years without the presence of Cristina Kirchner in the House of Representatives, Villarroel received the support of 39 senators, two more than the 37 needed to reach a quorum and elect Abdullah, senator from San Luis County.

🇦🇷 Now, Senator Bartolomé Abdullahi raises the national flag and begins the special plenary session pic.twitter.com/uFQQoErGWC

– Argentine Senate (@SenadoArgentina) December 13, 2023

In Argentina, the Vice President of the Republic is the ceremonial President of the Senate, and has a casting vote in the event of a tie. But in practice, the interim president leads the House of Representatives in most of its sessions.

On Wednesday (13 December), the government coalition sought to elect not only the interim President of the Senate, but also other key authorities, such as the Administrative Secretary responsible for Finance and the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for referring projects to committees. .

For the position of administrative secretary, Villarroel suggested Maria Laura Iso, an employee of the Ministry of Security. Agustín Justinian, a former PRO Bloc staffer who is close to Villarroel, was chosen as parliamentary secretary during the inauguration of lawmakers.

Carolina Losada became first vice president of the Senate, and Alejandra Vigo, senator from Córdoba and wife of former governor Juan Chiarte, was chosen as second vice president.

Who is Bartolomé Abdullah?

Abdullah, who was elected as a state senator from St. Louis County in October’s general election, is a public accountant by training but has been involved in politics for several years.

From 2008 to 2009, he served as President of Tourism of San Luis during the government of Alberto Rodríguez Sá. However, Abdullah was forced to resign when the governor’s president reshuffled his cabinet.

In addition, he served as a territorial representative and was chairman of the Republican motion in St. Louis.