President Javier Milei’s government is attacking a shortened week with electoral reform at the top of its legislative agenda. The Casa Rosada wants to revive its bill that would scrap the PASO primaries, a key plank in Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei’s electoral strategy for 2027. The Senate remains the main obstacle to that effort and the order handed down to La Libertad Avanza’s lawmakers is blunt: “The priority is the President’s re-election.”
Milei’s new Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli is taking charge of negotiations, which have been stalled for weeks. The departure of Santilli’s predecessor, Manuel Adorni, forced the ruling party to reshuffle its pack and adopt a more open relationship with governors and allied caucuses. But the change of faces has not yet changed the arithmetic: the votes to scrap the PASO primaries are still not there.
Reforming the electoral system requires an absolute majority in both chambers of Congress. In the Senate, that means 37 votes in favour – La Libertad Avanza has 21 lawmakers of its own and needs to secure another 16 votes from the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), its ally PRO, other provincial parties and non-Kirchnerite Peronists who are open to dialogue.
This is where the deadlock lies – much of the opposition willing to negotiate with the government does not want to lose the PASOs, since the primaries can help them organise broad electoral fronts. For the UCR, Pro and provincial parties, they are a tool for internal negotiation, not just an electoral event.
Within the UCR, Senators Carolina Losada and Maximiliano Abad are among the voices who are against scrapping the primaries. Reservations also persist within PRO, even among the sectors who are on speaking terms with the Casa Rosada. Without those caucuses, the ruling party has no room to manoeuvre: Kirchnerism remains almost unanimously opposed to the bill and provincial votes alone are not enough for the ruling party.
Patricia Bullrich, head of Le Libertad Avanza’s caucus in the Senate, had already said to her collaborators that the reform push does not yet have the numbers. Santilli is now treating the negotiation as one of his first tests as Cabinet chief; his arrival is meant to give political direction to talks that, until now, have stalled.
The new Cabinet chief was already familiar with the problem – while heading the Interior Ministry, he kept up contact with provincial governors in a bid to bring positions their closer together. Officials even considered alternatives and concessions designed to bring provincial governors on board.
So far, it has not been enough. The Casa Rosada needs governors to instruct their senators, but several are choosing to wait before committing. Among those with reservations is Osvaldo Jaldo, the governor of Tucumán Province, who will host President Milei for Independence Day celebrations in the region this week.
The debate over the ‘Ficha Limpia’ clean slate bill is also weighing on the electoral package. Several caucuses want to split that chapter off from the main bill. Martín Goerling, the head of the PRO in the Senate, is pushing for the issue to be handled separately.
The Ficha Limpia bill would bar individuals with a conviction upheld on appeal from posting candidacies or taking government positions. A bill to that end already failed in the Senate, falling just short after two lawmakers from Misiones linked to former governor Carlos Rovira voted against. Since then, sectors of the UCR and PRO have eyed the Casa Rosada’s position on the issue with suspicion.
Bullrich is trying to hold a middle ground. She is willing to treat Ficha Liimpia and electoral reform separately, but wants both bills voted on in the same session. Those willing to negotiate, meanwhile, are looking to avoid having the anti-corruption bill tied to the PASOs push.
The debate comes amid an internal reshuffle within the government. Karina Milei, her top advisor Eduardo ‘Lule’ Menem and Santilli will have to coordinate the legislative agenda, relations with governors and the 2027 electoral strategy.
At Balcarce 50, officials are trying to show that the change at the Cabinet Chief’s Office is aimed at rebuilding ties with governors and allies. The presence of 13 governors at Santilli’s swearing-in was read as a favourable sign, though the photo opportunity has yet to translate into votes.
The government wants to scrap the PASOs to boost its presidential strategy, but the sectors of the opposition willing to negotiate do not appear ready to give up the primaries, a tool that could serve it well in 2027. Santilli will have to show whether a change in style is enough to secure the votes the ruling party still does not have in the Senate.
