Buenos Aires Herald 
President Javier Milei suffered a historic defeat in Congress as the Senate voted to strike down a presidential decree granting US$100 million to intelligence services. The Lower House had already voted to reject the funding for the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE, by its Spanish acronym), which means that the decree is now void.
This is the first time since the Constitutional reform of 1994 turned presidential decrees into an official intrument of government that both chambers of Congress have voted to reject one
The government was quick to respond, calling the decision an “irresponsible vote” that left Argentine intelligence services without funds at a “historical moment.” “Those responsible for under-financing the intelligence system will have to take responsibility for any incident that occurs until the SIDE is correctly funded and can recover its key capabilities,” read the statement from the president’s press team posted on X.
The treatment of the presidential decree was a surprising development, as it was not originally on the docket for Thursday’s Senate session. The government had agreed with sectors of the so-called “friendly opposition” to postpone the debate on the SIDE funding until next week. Once on the chamber floor, however, the Peronist opposition —aided by a group of UCR senators— managed to include the issue through a legislative technicality and assured it would go to a vote.
The final tally was 49 votes in favor and 11 against striking down the decree, with two abstentions. Members of Peronist coalition Unión por la Patria (UxP) as well as lawmakers from government ally PRO and the UCR voted to reject the president’s decision. Also among the votes to strike down was Senator Francisco Paoltroni, who was elected for ruling coalition La Libertad Avanza (LLA) but was expelled from the bloc for, among other things, criticizing the funds given to the SIDE.
In recent months, the government has looked to strengthen intelligence services through a number of decisions. In July, President Javier Milei transformed the Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) into a secretariat directly under his orders and granted it more hierarchy and power. He also renamed it SIDE, the acronym it had for decades while being accused of corruption and illegal endeavors.
A week later, on July 23, Milei issued a decree to give the SIDE AR$100 billion (over US$100million at the official rate, US$77 million at the MEP rate). The funds were granted for confidential purposes, meaning they don’t have to give any explanations on what they use them for. Lawmakers have warned that 80% of those funds were spent in just three weeks.
The opposition has also warned that the money has been destined to questionable ends. Senator Martín Lousteau, who was appointed to lead a new bi-cameral commission that will control intelligence activities, has said that “there are clear enough signs” that those SIDE funds are being used to harass journalists and opposition members, as well as carry out political campaign activities.
“I think it’s important to control that,” he stated, adding that it was important that the intelligence commission be run by the opposition so it does not become another “tool for the government.”
Senate also approves university funding and a voting reform
The Senate also voted on two other issues on Thursday. First, it approved an electoral reform known as the Sole Paper Ballot (BUP, for its Spanish initials), something the government had announced it would pursue upon taking office.
The motion was approved with 38 votes in favor and 30 against. Because senators introduced changes to the original bill deputies had passed way back in 2022, the piece of legislation must now return to the Lower House for final approval.
In Argentina’s current voting system, parties place paper ballots with all their candidates for all the different positions in play in the dark room. Each ballot is clearly divided according to what will be voted (either legislative or executive branch), with all the candidates from any given party placed within the same section.
If a voter wants to pick all candidates from a single party, they just introduce that ballot into an envelope and place it in the voting box. But if an individual wants to, say, choose a presidential candidate from one party and a list of deputies from another, they are forced to carefully cut the ballots and insert these different portions in the envelope in order to vote.
The BUP, on the other hand, would have all positions to be voted on and all candidates from every party on a single ballot. Voters would be able to select who they want for each position by ticking a box with a pencil. If they wish to cast a blank vote in any given category, they can just leave the box empty.
The second item approved by the Senate was the Law of University Financing. It passed with 57 votes in favor, 10 against, and one abstention. The legislation calls to update the public university budget based on this year’s accumulated inflation, currently at 211.4%.
The law also stated that all university personnel receive bimonthly raises based on inflation.
Universities are in dire financial straits given that the government did not pass a 2024 national budget and opted instead to operate with the budget from last year. The Milei administration, however, has already signaled that the president will most likely veto the university funding law, as he recently did with the pension raise.
