Pichetto: Milei's "good move" with the Court and a disconcerting idea about Argentina and the "charanguito"

In an extensive interview with María O'Donnell and Ernesto Tenembaum , the deputy and political leader of Encuentro Federal Miguel Ángel Pichetto referred to two central issues: the recent appointment by decree of judges in the Supreme Court and the scandal of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA that shakes the Government. Throughout the conversation, Pichetto offered forceful statements on the institutional implications of these decisions and, in a critical tone , analyzed the current political context.

Pichetto did not hesitate to describe the Executive's decision to appoint two Supreme Court judges by decree as " very weak ", although he considered it "a good move" to "cover up" the crypto scandal . " I would have recommended it to her , if I were in the Government," he said, with a mischievous gesture,

However, he made contrary arguments regarding the decision itself: "I think that it also places judges in a position where independence is under critical scrutiny," he said, and focused on the consequences of this measure for the credibility of the judiciary.

According to him, this maneuver " exaggerates the constitutional norm " and refers to a practice of the 19th century, when the article in question was drafted with the appointment of justices of the peace in mind and in a context where Congress did not meet for long periods.

$LIBRA: after the Senate's rejection, opposition deputies promote an investigative commission

"It is a path where the constitutional norm is also exaggerated. This dates back to the time of 1860, after the first drafting of the Constitution and the expanded reform of 1960, when it was incorporated into Buenos Aires. It had more to do with the justices of the peace , which the Executive Branch could appoint while Congress was not functioning," Pichetto explained. At that time, he added, "the ordinary sessions ended on September 30 and logically it was a much more complex world from the point of view of how vast the country was."

The former senator stressed that the appointment by commission " places judges in a weak zone " and generates a critical perception of their independence, as they do not comply with the constitutional requirement of a special two-thirds majority in the Senate.

"They have been appointed by the Executive Branch without fulfilling the only obligation that is clearly established by the Constitution , which also establishes a special majority, the only special majority," he insisted, and referred to the article that requires this legislative support for the judges of the Court, the Attorney General and the Procurator General.

Pichetto also pointed to the "Senate's delay" as a factor that contributed to this situation. " Here we must also analyze the Senate's delay, right? A long year with a ruling to be able to deal with one of them in the chamber, which unfortunately was not dealt with either," he said.

“A new balance of power within the Court”: the details of the appointments of Lijo and García Mansilla

However, he made it clear that this does not justify the measure adopted by the Executive, since, in his opinion, the Argentine institutional framework is " precarious and a convoluted system that does not allow anyone to be appointed."

The legislator compared this decision to a failed attempt by Mauricio Macri in 2015, when he wanted to appoint two judges by decree, but backed down after resistance from the Senate. "Mauricio Macri, surely badly advised by some fanciful advisor , received a message from the Senate that this was not happening and that they were going to be rejected immediately," Pichetto said. In that case, he noted, "Macri immediately changed and eliminated the appointment by commission and sent it to the Senate."

In contrast, the current administration moved forward with the appointment, which, for Pichetto, shows a difference in respect for “constitutional norms.”

The "charanguito" and the cultural transformation of Argentina

In another part of the interview, Pichetto addressed a topic that he himself related to a cultural and demographic transformation of the country: the music of the "charanguito." This term arose in the context of a discussion about migration and changes in Argentine identity, especially in the Buenos Aires suburbs.

"Did you see the charanguito that is going away? That music from the north has nothing to do with Argentina ," said Pichetto, and drew a distinction with the traditional folklore of the Pampas plain. When asked if that music was not part of the diversity of a vast country like Argentina, he replied: "Folklore has nothing to do with the charanguito, it has nothing to do with it ."

The former senator linked this cultural change to a significant migration phenomenon in recent decades. "In recent years, three million poor Venezuelans have arrived. At first, professionals came, then all the poor came. And Bolivians, Peruvians, they are all here ," he said.

The Government appointed Alejandro Oxenford as the new ambassador to the United States by decree

According to Pichetto, this massive influx of immigrants, concentrated especially in the province of Buenos Aires, has altered the social and cultural structure of the country. " Half of the people from Buenos Aires are foreigners . They are concentrated there," he estimated, although he acknowledged that the censuses do not offer precise data in this regard.

He criticised the lack of a planned migration policy: "You should have had an intelligent migration policy, of population development in Patagonia, so that the people who came would come to work and not come to the Buenos Aires suburbs, where everything exploded." For Pichetto, this phenomenon is one of the "problems that nobody wants to take on" and constitutes a "serious" structural problem that the country has not been able to confront.

In this context, the "charanguito" became a symbol of what Pichetto perceives as a "latinization" of Argentina , far from the identity he knew in his youth.

"I lived in Argentina, my family was a humble family from Banfield, but my father had in his head that his son had to study and had to go to university. That world no longer exists," he reflected, and connected these cultural changes with the arrival of new generations of immigrants and the absence of policies that regulate this process.

NG/LT