25/06/2026 03:13 - Politica
The Casa Rosada (the seat of the Argentine executive branch) made a decision that shifts the balance of power within the ruling coalition: to intervene in the leadership of the Senate caucus that until now had been under the command of Patricia Bullrich. The measure was finalized after the meeting on Tuesday, June 24, 2026, between Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni and libertarian senators, where it was defined to create a WhatsApp group to coordinate the caucus, directly controlled by Karina Milei (the President's sister and Secretary General) and Diego Santilli.
According to two congressional sources confirmed to La Política Online, the objective is to make Bullrich feel "the rigor of the Casa Rosada's leadership." The former Minister of Security, who assumed the caucus leadership with the slogan "They don't enter the Senate," found that Diego Santilli and Eduardo Lule Menem were already negotiating with allies during the extraordinary sessions and the labor reform discussion.
The decision has several politically relevant facets:
A libertarian senator who participated in the meeting with Adorni expressed concern: "If they create another group on the side, it's already too much," referring to the fact that a chat group for libertarian senators already exists and creating a new one controlled from the Casa Rosada would be a signal of distrust.
Faced with this advance from the government, Patricia Bullrich did not stand idly by. On Wednesday, she sought to shield herself with public demonstrations of support from two key figures of the ruling party: Federico Sturzenegger, President of the Central Bank, and Luis Petri, Minister of Defense. Both officials publicly backed the former minister.
This internal tension adds to other conflicts Bullrich has had within the libertarian space. Previously, libertarian legislators had reproached her stance: "We are tired of finding out about your positions via Twitter," they told her in a caucus meeting.
This political maneuver occurs amidst the scandal known as "AdorniGate". Manuel Adorni is under scrutiny for a 775% increase in his personal wealth (from $20 million to $944 million according to complaints). A motion of censure has accumulated 120 of the 129 signatures needed to remove him from office.
The questioning session scheduled for Wednesday, June 25, 2026, failed due to lack of quorum (117 present out of 129 needed). The PRO, UCR, and provincial blocs did not provide quorum following an agreement with Martín Menem (President of the Chamber of Deputies). The debate on the Super RIGI (Large Investment Incentive Regime) and payments to holdouts was referred to the Constitutional Affairs Committee starting June 30, 2026.
Adorni is required to appear before the Senate on July 2, 2026. Judge Ariel Lijo is handling the investigation.
Meeting Date: June 24, 2026
Participants: Manuel Adorni with libertarian senators
Measure: WhatsApp group controlled by Karina Milei and Diego Santilli
Goal: Intervene in the ruling party's Senate caucus
Bullrich's Reaction: Shielded with support from Sturzenegger and Petri
Source: La Política Online
The 1994 Constitution establishes in its Article 101 the figure of the motion of censure, which allows either of the two chambers to remove the Cabinet Chief with the vote of an absolute majority in both. Unlike political impeachment, censure is a strictly political instrument that does not require proving a fault, only the loss of parliamentary confidence.
However, as an opinion piece in El Día points out, the mechanism has been merely decorative in Argentine practice because it requires majorities that no opposition bloc has gathered stably. In European parliamentary regimes, censure compromises the Executive itself, but in Argentina, the president remains in office and simply appoints a successor.
The threat of censure could, according to analysts, free Milei from a questioned official without touching his base of political support.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
