Argentina’s Opposition Calls on Fernandez to Drop Reform

(Bloomberg) -- Argentina’s opposition leaders called on President Alberto Fernandez to drop his controversial proposal for justice reform a day after mass anti-government protests nationwide.

The opposition bloc said in a letter sent to Fernandez on Tuesday that his Peronist government should focus more on resolving the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis than rush through a reform of the justice system that lacks political consensus.

The bill “doesn’t accurately contribute to the climate of unity between Argentines, which you have repeatedly stated Mr. President and we share,” the opposition coalition wrote. “Today the priority is finding a way out of the economic and social crisis after the pandemic.”

The proposal would nearly double the number of federal judges in Argentina’s provinces, where many Peronist political leaders govern. The reform would also water down the power of one of Argentina’s top courts, Comodoro Py, where Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been named in several corruption probes.

Even though the fine print of the reform has yet to be presented, that didn’t stop protesters on Monday, who took to the streets from Buenos Aires to beach towns in the biggest anti-government turnout since Fernandez took office Dec. 10. A key issue mentioned by protesters in Monday’s marches was their objection to the judiciary reform.

Political Divide

The reform comes at a delicate time. It’s aggravating the country’s political divide just as some opposition leaders are trying to put aside differences to collaborate with Fernandez’s government on its Covid-19 response.

Some key political players did not sign the letter, including Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta and Fernandez’s predecessor, Mauricio Macri, although the former president did tweet out support for the marchers. Patricia Bullrich, a former security minister and current president of opposition party PRO, signed the coalition letter along with others.

Fernandez provided a thinly veiled rebuke to the opposition and protesters Wednesday in his first public remarks since the marches took place. He didn’t explicitly name the protesters but local press interpreted the comments that way.

“Those who shout aren’t going to break us up,” Fernandez said following an announcement on public works projects. “Those who shout tend not to be right.”

Fernandez’s cabinet chief, Santiago Cafiero, had previously slammed the opposition, including Macri, for supporting the protest.

Macri “can’t deny the irresponsibility that it means to promote and encourage a march in the middle of a pandemic,” Cafiero tweeted on Tuesday.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.