After two weeks of a lot of thread, finally This Tuesday At 2 pm, a plenary of the Commissions of Constitutional Affairs, Justice, and Budget and Finance of the Chamber of Deputies, debate the project of “Reform for electoral strengthening”that the executive branch sent at the end of November last year and that it is one of the issues included within the agenda of the Extraordinary sessions.
This is the first official meeting of the Extraordinary Period Agend Officialism and allied block legislators.
What is Milei’s electoral reform?
As soon as the project was known, explained in Message 64/24-File 22-PE-2024-, the left warned about the danger of this initiative. As a whole, political reform implies a Hard attack on political rights and the democratic freedoms In our country. , since it seeks, on the one hand: the strengthening of a government that intends greater doses of adjustment against the working and popular majorities, and on the other: the proscription of the left and political forces or emerging political expressions, many of which they have Legislative representatives in the cameras and that will undoubtedly be affected negatively.
The project includes Two titles. He first Look for the Derogation of the open, simultaneous, and mandatory primary regime (step). He second Title aims to modify the financing regime of political parties with the objective of eliminate (or reduce the maximum expression) the financing of the national State to political parties in the electoral campaign and increase private financing, which brings a kind of “privatization” of the political system.
The official objective behind this proposal is put a political regime in which they can only have representation in the National Congress and postulate presidential candidates of no more than two or three political formations funded by the large economic groups (either national or foreign) and that therefore act representing their business interests.
The counterpart of this, is the smooth proscription and flat of the Left matches and from the forces whose financing does not come or supply from business sectors.
The Government uses the “expense” arger to justify this policy. However, they spend them in 2023 cost half of what the government spends today in the SIDE to spy on opponents for example. At the same time, export rights to agricultural employers and taxes to vehicles that can only acquire wealthy sectors are reduced from the ruling, while the commercial surplus vanishes in the payments of the fraudulent external debt.
About title I: repeal of the open, simultaneous and mandatory primary regime (step)
The objective is the Elimination of the so -called step. The left always criticized the passage through its proscriptive floor to be able to participate in the general elections, as well as being an instrument in which the State interferes in the decision of each party or alliance.
But this proposal, what it seeks is the alteration of the electoral calendar with the objective of designing a new electoral system according to the needs of the national government and imposing leonine conditions to be able to create parties and postulate candidates deepening even more the proscriptive character of the elections . That it is clear, those who support this initiative today, what they are looking for is to abolish them not to make a more democratic regime but to strengthen them in their spaces and polarize, leaving outside third options.
About title II: modifications to the financing regime of political parties
The objective of this title as a whole is to advance in the Preparation of a political system in which there are only political forces and candidates that are funded by the large economic sectorswho in turn in that way ensure the design of custom economic policies and The elimination of opposition political forceslike the left, which will always defend the interests of working majorities, women, youth and any oppressed sector. It seeks to privatize the electoral system.
The spirit of the left is the opposite. Therefore, in 2018, they presented a bill (file: 4637-D-2018) in which it is established that the “Electoral campaign will be fully funded by the national State, all kinds of private financing being prohibited, that is, any contribution in money, or estimated in money, that a natural, ideal or legal person makes a political group, intended for financing, destined for financing of electoral expenses ”.
Because? Because state financing of 100% electoral campaigns It is what allows a degree of greatest equality among the candidates of the different political forces. Otherwise, a force like the Left Front Unit, which by principles does not have business financing, would practically not have the possibility of campaigning, therefore, their ideas and program could not be seen or heard.
On the contrary to the provisions of this title (through articles 41, 42 and 43 of chapter i) a series of modifications are established (either via the entire repeal of titles, chapters and/or articles) to the law of Financing of political parties No. 26,215 that are aimed at “the electoral campaigns will cease to be unleashed almost entirely by the national state and open its way to financing from the private sector”.
Article 12 establishes the replacement of Chapter IV Bis of the National Electoral Code-Law No. 19.945 that indicated the obligation of the presidential debate for another in which that point directly eliminates. That is, to prosper this initiative, there will be no more presidential debates.
The spaces assigned on radio and television are also eliminated. From now on, each party or alliance must pay it. Each advertising (one) of 15 seconds in an open TV channel can cost more than five million pesos. How many political forces and candidates are in a position to face the millionaire cost to appear in the media? It must be added that in the event that, if funds were achieved to pass some spots, the medium has the power to pass them or not.
The ruling also seeks that in order for parties or alliances to apply for candidates in the legislative and presidential elections they should have at least more than the double affiliates Of those that today demands current legislation, otherwise they would be expired, without the possibility of participating in the elections. Minimum of 10,000 affiliates in each of the largest provinces, and 37,000 for a national party.
To be a national party and postulate a presidential formula today it is necessary to have political legal status in at least five districts. With this initiative, they want to duplicate, no matter if a party has political status in the province of Buenos Aires that represents 40% of the national electoral roll: a minimum of 10 provinces should be had. If this proposal triumphs, the group that did not obtain votes equivalent to 3% of the district register in two consecutive elections left out of the electoral contest. In real terms that means about 5% of the votes (because 100% of the register never votes). That minimum of 3% of the register to continue postulating candidates and candidates if there is an alliance such as our force must “be distributed” among all its members. That is, today the FITU should obtain 12% of the register (about 18% of the votes) in each district so that each of the four games that integrate it can continue to postulate candidates in the successive elections.
The main victim of these reforms will be the whole of the electorate
The serious thing about the conjutno project is that The main victim of these reforms would be the whole of the electorate, which would be deprived of knowing all the options on equal terms. If this “political reform” is approved, they will only be able to see and listen to the proposals and the political program deciding the billionaires who finance the campaigns. With this reform they will not be able to see or listen to the candidates on the left, who does not have the financing of the large economic groups that naturally finance those who will defend their interests. And it is not about obtaining more or less votes: no entrepreneur would put a penny in whom they are part of the struggles of the workers and the people such as the left, which is supported exclusively and exclusively with the contributions of workers and students. Milei wants to emulate the Yankee model of the Democratic Party and Donald Trump, where those who decide everything and can twist an electoral result are the megar as Elon Musk, to have governments and parliaments that manage and legislate in favor of increasing their profits.
And those who collaborate with this official proposal in this project will be putting their grain of sand so that the Government adds a more authoritarian quota.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
