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Catamarca Governor Backs Ending Argentina's PASO Primaries

His public break from Peronist leaders highlights internal party splits and could bolster the national government's push for broader electoral change.

Overview

  • On Tuesday Raúl Jalil, governor of Catamarca, said PASO primaries “do not serve society” and publicly backed eliminating them in an interview with Futurock.
  • Jalil urged that parties should pick candidates through internal primaries or consensuses and said the current open, compulsory PASO act like an expensive opinion poll that weakens party structures.
  • He rejected the return of listas colectoras as a personal position, arguing that party identity should be strengthened rather than blurred by multiple-list candidacies.
  • Jalil confirmed he will keep talking with the national government, said he will attend Independence Day events, and defended the RIGI investment regime for accelerating mining projects in Catamarca.
  • The comment shifts the debate into a negotiating phase because governors hold decisive sway over any reform, so talks between provinces, the Casa Rosada and Congress are likely to continue after the winter recess.