Former president Mauricio Macri said that negotiations over a common electoral front between his party, the PRO, and ruling party La Libertad Avanza (LLA) have been hindered after the Senate failed to pass the anti-graft bill known as Ficha Limpia (Clean Record) last week.

“This has made the attempt even more complicated, which is only an attempt for now, and absolutely no progress has been made,” Macri said in an interview with Radio Mitre. He added that he was “sad and frustrated” over the failure of the bill and said he has “no idea” what President Javier Milei is thinking. 

“He used to be a man who dreamt of a country. Now he dreams of power.”

Macri has been trying to strike a deal with LLA for the upcoming elections in the Buenos Aires province, slated for September 7. Although he has supported Milei’s economic reforms, the pair have repeatedly clashed over other issues, from cabinet positions to legislative projects like Ficha Limpia.

Although Milei publicly backed the initiative, there are long-standing rumors that LLA’s position was dubious. A Ficha Limpia bill originally filed by PRO fell through in November in a confusing episode after the session failed to reach quorum, with several LLA deputies absent. The ruling party then filed a new bill, very similar to the original, which passed in the Lower House in February.

Peronist coalition Unión por la Patria (UxP) has claimed that the bill, which sought to ban individuals with convictions for corruption confirmed by two courts from running for office, was meant to specifically target ex-President Cristina Kirchner.

Accusations going back and forth

Misiones Senators Carlos Arce and Sonia Rojas Decut were the key swing votes on Wednesday. Although they had said they would back the bill, the pair ended up voting against it. They are both close to former Misiones governor Carlos Rovira, who is mostly aligned with the Milei administration.

Controversy over the issues escalated on Friday after the country’s two main newspapers, Clarín and La Nación, reported that Rovira said in a meeting with local leaders that the decision to change the vote was taken at the president’s request. At the time of writing, Rovira has not publicly denied this. 

Milei, however, accused PRO, specifically its main candidate in the upcoming city elections, deputy Silvia Lospennato, of the failure. Lospennato, one of the main backers of the bill, said she was “disappointed” with Milei in several interviews and hinted that he might have been behind the move.

“How can it be that senators from a province that has benefited so much from the national government […] dare rebel in such a treacherous way without warning?” she asked in Congress, referencing the Misiones senators who flipped their vote at the last minute. In an interview, she even said that she briefly pondered abandoning politics altogether after the vote.

In a Friday speech at the Latam Economic Forum 2025, Milei claimed that the bill did not pass because PRO and Lospennato wanted to debate it before securing the votes. “I am extremely disappointed by deputy [Silvia] Lospennato lying about Ficha Limpia.”

Macri hit back at these accusations in his aforementioned interview with Radio Mitre, calling them “unacceptable.” However, he did not rule out an alliance with the ruling party in the province, but after the city elections, scheduled for May 18.

“I would say that today we are in the city election. We will wait until the 18th, and after that we will try to sit down, hopefully in a respectful tone,” he said.

This position is in line with what a libertarian source from Buenos Aires City told the Herald — that LLA and PRO view the city elections as a primary between two parties. Whichever party gets the most votes will have the upper hand in the negotiations for the upcoming national and provincial elections.