Overview
- The Río Negro Justicialist Party filed a formal challenge seeking to stop La Libertad Avanza's Lorena Villaverde from assuming her Senate seat, citing alleged ethical and constitutional ineligibility.
- The Constitutional Affairs Commission meets Wednesday at 11 a.m. under chair Alejandra Vigo to review credentials, with 19 members and 10 votes required for a rejection; the Peronist bloc has 8 confirmed votes.
- The filing references press reports and prior records alleging a 2002 U.S. drug case and purported ties to Federico “Fred” Machado through his cousin Claudio “Lechuga” Cicarelli; Villaverde has denied the accusations.
- Past Congress cases include the 2003 refusal to seat Raúl ‘Tato’ Romero Feris and the Bussi case that led to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling limiting the chambers' power to exclude elected members.
- If the challenge advances, a decision could reach the floor at the November 28 preparatory session, and an exclusion could prompt a court battle or the seat passing to her alternate.