Negotiations failed. The governors turned their backs on the ruling party, and several allies rejected the vetoes.

The corollary of the new and categorical defeat suffered this Wednesday by the ruling party in the Chamber of Deputies, where it was unable to shield the presidential vetoes on the laws on pediatric emergencies and university financing , is explained, in large part, because formerly loyal governors and legislators who supported the libertarian projects this time turned their backs on the Government .

The vote to insist on the emergency law for pediatric health, which arose in the heat of the Garrahan Hospital crisis, was relentless: 181 votes in favor, 60 against, and one abstention . The opposition needed a two-thirds majority to reject the vote and far exceeded that number. The vote in favor of the university financing law, which was the most difficult for the opposition, was also overwhelming: 174 votes in favor, 67 against, and two abstained .

The attempt by top officials at the Casa Rosada (Presidential Palace) to re-establish dialogue with provincial leaders after the crushing defeat in the Buenos Aires elections , especially with those who had supported the ruling party in Congress, did not seem to have any effect, at least in this session of the Chamber of Deputies. Despite efforts to dissuade the most doubtful, including the last-minute distribution of National Treasury Contributions (ATN) , the governors remained undeterred and, this time, opted to support the demands of the public universities in their territories.

This blow is magnified because even the Pro bloc, allied with the Casa Rosada, revealed cracks, and half a dozen yellow legislators contributed their votes to the two-thirds needed to reject both vetoes by President Javier Milei.

Indeed, the yellow caucus was split in both votes. Seven deputies from the yellow caucus broke away from the official line: Silvia Lospennato, Germana Figueroa Casas, Álvaro González, Héctor Baldassi, Sofía Brambilla , and Representative Ana Clara Romero —who answers to Governor Ignacio Torres (Chubut)—rejected both vetoes, while José Núñez supported the law on the Garrahan Hospital.

For her part, Representative María Eugenia Vidal abstained from voting on universities and voted in favor of, rejecting the veto, the law on pediatric emergencies.

Not even the governors who formed electoral alliances in their provinces cooperated with the ruling party. UCR representatives Pamela Verasay and Lisandro Nieri , loyal to Alfredo Cornejo (Mendoza) , voted in favor of the university financing law and were absent from the debate on the pediatric emergency law.

For his part, Entre Ríos native Francisco Morchio , a deputy who answers to Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos), was absent from both votes and did not help to shield the vetoes.

The insistence on the university funding law was, from the outset, the most difficult challenge for the opposition. Those who were key in swaying the vote in favor of the university funding law's validity were those legislators who abstained or were absent in the first vote, when the law was approved on August 6. The majority of them, on this occasion, rejected the presidential veto .

Indeed, the eight representatives from the Federal Innovation bloc, who answer to Governors Gustavo Sáenz (Salta); Hugo Passalacqua (Misiones); and Alberto Weretilneck (Río Negro), voted for the law's continuation; the majority of them had been absent. They were instrumental in swaying the vote, which included Representative María de los Angeles Moreno, who, along with Nancy Picón, answers to Governor Marcelo Orrego (San Juan) , who is considered a dialoguer.

Former libertarian allies also turned their backs on the government, such as MID representatives Oscar Zago and Eduardo Falcone, who had been absent from the law's passage, as did Marcela Pagano (Coherencia), who this time voted in favor along with her colleagues Carlos D'Alessandro and Gerardo González . The latter had voted against the law's passage, but now, alienated from the government, have joined the opposition.

One of the most notable affirmative votes was that of Martín Arjol , a member of the radical-turned-libertarian group, who rejected both vetoes, while his bloc colleague, José Tournier, voted in favor of the pediatric emergency law and against the veto.

Santa Fe native Gabriel Chumpitaz , a former member of Pro and close to the ruling party, also rejected both vetoes.

Another bloc that had supported the ruling party throughout its administration also collaborated in the defeat: the UCR bloc led by Rodrigo De Loredo . Eleven of the fourteen Radical deputies supported both laws and, on this occasion, reaffirmed their position by rejecting the veto.

According to