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The increase in allowances in the Senate revived the unrest among the deputies, but they rule out bringing the issue to the floor - Infobae
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El aumento de dietas en el Senado reavivó el malestar entre los diputados, pero descartan llevar el tema al recinto
El mes pasado, Martín Menem otorgó una suba en los salarios pero luego, en medio de un escándalo, terminó dando marcha atrás. Los legisladores aseguran que no es suficiente para quienes viven en el interior y deben pagar estadías todas las semanas
www.infobae.com
April 19, 2024
Last month, Martín Menem granted a salary increase but then, in the midst of a scandal, he ended up backing down. Legislators assure that it is not enough for those who live in the interior and must pay for stays every week
By Federico Millenaar
Chamber of Deputies (Gustavo Gavotti)
The increase in the allowances of the senators , who starting next month will earn around $4,000,000 out of pocket, increased the unrest that has reigned since last month in all blocks of the Chamber of Deputies.
At the beginning of March, Victoria Villarruel , head of the Senate, and Martín Menem , her counterpart in the Lower House, had approved a 30% increase for legislators in line with the parity of Congressional workers. The news caused a political stir and even Javier Milei himself got involved in the discussion to prevent it from affecting the image of his government.
Under pressure from the President, Villarruel and Menem retracted the measure. In fact, Menem always maintained that he was not aware that the parity of parliamentary workers was “hooked” to the deputies' allowances.
The virtual freeze left the salaries of the deputies at around $1,500,000 , a figure - according to the deputies of almost all blocks - that is not enough to cover the expenses of those who live outside the AMBA.
“ A mediocre hotel costs $70,000 per day and they have to come three days a week, minimum. Furthermore, the deputies have to keep their homes in their provinces , move around and eat here in CABA,” explained a PRO representative, dissatisfied with Menem's decision. In turn, he also criticized members of his own space who aligned themselves with the Government's position. “Some who do not live off their deputy salary take their personal situation to give their opinion in general, but that is not the reality of most of the bloc,” he continued.
Martin Menem, president of the Chamber of Deputies (Gustavo Gavotti)
Being a deputy poses a series of incompatibilities that prevent them from carrying out many activities to complement their income. For example, lawyers cannot practice . This is another of the arguments that legislators often repeat to defend the need for their salaries not to lag behind inflation.
On the political level, Peronism highlights that the “demagogic” policy of “punishing” legislators will lead to a worsening of the level of representatives in the medium term. “ Only the rich, who can bank outside, are going to do politics ,” they said. Along these lines, they also explained that criticism of the number of advisors and the low salaries they charge will also lead to deputies being more open to lobbies. “ They are going to take those 'turnkey' projects that are written by those who have interests in some area, because they are not going to have professionals to work on those issues ,” they noted.
The Senate's maneuver, from which Milei himself quickly emerged , necessarily required broad political agreement. First to guarantee two-thirds of the votes that enabled the treatment “on tables” (the project was not on the agenda); then for the vote to be by show of hands without anyone demanding a roll-call vote (leaving a record of how each senator voted) and also for no legislator to speak.
In fact, Victoria Villarruel herself left a clue in a tweet after the scandal. “ Today the senators from all blocks agreed to an increase in their salary that was voted by show of hands in the chamber because they had the necessary votes to do so,” she published. The detail is that she clarified that it was all the blocks, without separating the libertarians.
Villarruel's crossing with a network user
In response to Infobae 's consultation , the dialogue opposition ruled out the possibility of replicating the same move in the Deputies. “ It is impossible for a vote to happen by show of hands and without anyone speaking ,” said a man from Hacemos Coalión Federal.
Along the same lines, a radical deputy pointed out that “ this is not the time to discuss diets in this context ,” although he clarified that we must end the “demagogy” of low salaries. “ They are not issues for the venue. Martín Menem has to solve it, since he has even stepped on the last 8% increase,” said a visibly angry Peronist.
As Infobae learned , criticism of the diet is also heard within the libertarian bloc itself , but so far no one has dared to express it publicly against the President's line.
Until now, Martín Menem has not spoken publicly on the issue again. However, he told the dialogue blocks that the issue will be discussed after the treatment of the Base Law.
