Senate Delay Leaves Argentina’s PASO in Force

Argentina’s Senate has left the compulsory national primaries, known as PASO, in place for now. President Javier Milei’s government shelved plans to advance a bill suspending them before the 2027 presidential election. The government won’t reconvene the relevant committee until it has enough votes to pass the measure. Under current law, only Congress can change the system.

The ruling party, La Libertad Avanza, holds 21 of the Senate’s 72 seats. Electoral-rule changes require 37 votes, leaving the government 16 short. That math puts the decision in the hands of senators outside the ruling bloc, including members of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), the PRO and provincial groups.

The Votes That Aren’t Secured

Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli has spoken with governors who say they would support suspending the primaries, but individual Senate commitments remain uncertain. The government’s sources told TN: “Until there is a closed agreement we are not going to convene.” The account relied on unnamed officials and ruling-bloc members; neither the Senate nor Casa Rosada announced a new committee date.

La Nación’s October 18 count treated the ruling bloc’s 21 senators and three provincial senators as firm: Julieta Corroza of Neuquén and Natalia Gadano and José María Carambia of Santa Cruz. Several Radicals, the PRO bloc and senators tied to the governor of Tucumán remained uncommitted. The UCR and PRO together hold 13 Senate seats.

The Senate Constitutional Affairs Committee last considered the reform on September 15 and ended without issuing an opinion. Ruling-party senator Agustín Coto, the committee chairman, adjourned without setting a date to resume. A political-table meeting at Casa Rosada on October 13 produced no new committee date.

What the Proposal Would Change

The current negotiations concern suspending the national primaries for 2027 and adding a box to the single paper ballot so voters could select an entire party list with one mark. The original bill proposed abolishing the primaries permanently; the government now describes its aim as suspension, which would leave the system in law. Perfil quoted libertarian sources in September as saying: “we will not get to eliminating the PASO, we will seek to suspend them.”

The government has also discussed allowing national and provincial parties to form different alliances in each province. Santilli said the primaries cost about US$200 million and could require voters in some provinces to vote five or six times a year. In an interview published by Infobae on October 18, he told broadcaster LN+: “the electoral reform will happen,” while acknowledging that the ruling party had no guaranteed votes.

Reports differ on how close the government is to securing support. Perfil reported on October 16 that the Speaker’s office considered lower-house votes secured, opposition deputies believed the government already had the votes, and Santilli thought only a few Senate votes were missing. The same report said ruling-party Senate leader Patricia Bullrich confirmed Senate backing wasn’t yet there. Opposition lawmakers characterized the delay as political and internal; that was their interpretation, not an established fact.

Other Bills and the Electoral Deadline

The proposed reform is competing with work on the 2027 budget. TN placed the lower-house budget vote in mid- or late November. Budget Committee chairman and ruling-party deputy Alberto Benegas Lynch said the aim was a committee opinion on October 28 and a floor vote on November 18. TN reported that the government increasingly expected ordinary sessions to extend into December.

The National Electoral Chamber, which oversees elections, asked in September that any change be approved before the end of 2026. Bullrich supported that request at the time. The sources didn’t establish how many of the 16 additional Senate votes were close to being secured, whether governors would demand concessions, or whether the government would pursue suspension for 2027 alone or continue seeking abolition.