Argentina’s Government Wants to Scrap the PASO Primaries Before the Next Election
ARGENTINA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- The meeting Karina Milei met Diego Santilli, Cristian Ritondo and Fernando de Andreis at the Casa Rosada on Wednesday.
- The goal Suspending the PASO primaries, with a vote sought in Congress in September or October.
- The reason The government frames it as improving Javier Milei’s prospects for re-election in 2027.
- The context The opposition had just advanced bills on disability assistance and debtor relief in the Chamber of Deputies.
- The catch PRO has not committed publicly. Government officials say privately that the party has turned.
- The arithmetic No outlet has published a vote count, so whether the numbers exist is unknown.
The meeting came days after two defeats in the Chamber of Deputies. Suspending the primaries would remove a hurdle from Javier Milei’s path to a second term.
Argentina’s government wants Congress to suspend the PASO primaries. It spent Wednesday afternoon trying to assemble the votes.
Karina Milei, the president’s sister and the general secretary of the presidency, met three figures from PRO at the Casa Rosada. Infobae reported the meeting lasted about two hours.
Those present were Diego Santilli, Cristian Ritondo and Fernando de Andreis. The meeting took place in Santilli’s office.
What the PASO Primaries Are
PASO stands for primarias abiertas, simultáneas y obligatorias. In English that is open, simultaneous and compulsory primaries.
They were introduced in 2009 and first used in 2011. Every party selects its candidates on the same day, and voting is compulsory for citizens as in a general election.
The design had two purposes. It forced internal competition into the open, and it filtered out parties that could not clear a minimum threshold.
In practice the PASO primaries have become a national opinion poll with legal force. They tell every party exactly where it stands months before the real vote.
That is precisely why governments dislike them. A weak primary result is a self-inflicted wound that cannot be spun away.
Why Now
The government’s stated frame is Javier Milei’s 2027 re-election. Removing a mid-cycle national vote removes a chance to lose one.
It wants the change through Congress in September or October. That timing would clear the calendar well before candidate registration for 2027.
The meeting followed two parliamentary defeats. The opposition advanced bills on emergency disability assistance and on debtor relief in the Chamber of Deputies.
Losing votes in the lower house is the practical problem behind the political manoeuvre. La Libertad Avanza has never held a majority in either chamber.
Whether PRO Will Deliver
PRO is the conservative party built by Mauricio Macri, and it has been Milei‘s most reliable congressional partner. It has also been an uneasy one.
Government officials quoted by Infobae were confident. Their phrasing was that PRO had turned and would support the measure.
PRO itself has committed to nothing publicly. That gap between private confidence and public silence is the whole story of the relationship.
No outlet has published a vote count for the measure. Until someone does, the government’s confidence is an assertion rather than a calculation.
What Suspension Would Change
Without a primary, party leaderships pick candidates internally. In Argentina that means provincial bosses and national party offices rather than voters.
That suits large established machines and it suits new parties without internal factions. Milei’s movement is the second kind.
It disadvantages anyone trying to challenge an incumbent leadership from inside a party. The primary is the only mechanism that forces such a contest into public view.
Critics therefore frame the proposal as removing accountability rather than saving money. The government frames it as sparing voters an unnecessary trip to the polls.
Both arguments have been made in Argentina before, by different parties in different years. The position tends to follow whoever is in office.
The Rest of the Week
Milei separately convoked his own deputies and senators to a meeting at the Casa Rosada on Monday. That is the second such gathering in short order.
He also cancelled a planned trip to the United Kingdom. Tension over the Falklands has continued through the year.
Argentina is buying four Black Hawk helicopters from the United States. That forms part of a broader realignment of defence procurement toward Washington.
Suspending primaries is not unprecedented in Argentina. They were suspended in 2021 on pandemic grounds, and the precedent is now being reused for political ones.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Argentina’s PASO primaries?
Open, simultaneous and compulsory primaries held nationally on one day, in which every party selects its candidates. They were introduced in 2009 and first used in 2011.
Why does the government want them suspended?
It argues the change improves Javier Milei’s prospects for re-election in 2027. Removing the primaries removes a national vote the government could lose before the real one.
Can the government do this alone?
No. Suspending the primaries requires a law, and La Libertad Avanza does not hold a majority in either chamber of Congress.
Has this happened before?
Yes. Argentina suspended the primaries in 2021, on public health grounds during the pandemic.
Sources: Infobae.
In depth
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