Argentina Pres. Seeks To Impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice

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Facts

  • Argentina's Pres. Alberto Fernández said on Tuesday that he has signed a request for the impeachment of Supreme Court chief Horacio Rosatti, citing conduct allegedly constituting "poor performance of his duties."
  • Twelve provincial governors support the action, which also targets Supreme Court vice-president Carlos Rosenkrantz, as well as Justices Juan Carlos Maqueda and Ricardo Lorenzetti.
  • The case reportedly stems from conversations between Justice Rosatti's spokesman, Silvio Robles, and the City of Buenos Aires Minister of Security and Justice, Marcelo D'Alessandro, in the context of the dispute between the federal government and Buenos Aires over the distribution of funds.
  • Last month, the Supreme Court ordered the federal government to return tax funds taken from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) — governed by a mayor from the opposition coalition — in 2020 and transferred to the province of Buenos Aires.
  • Despite the efforts of the ruling coalition, which also controls the province, Rosatti is unlikely to be impeached as the Fernández camp is short of the two-thirds majority thresholds required in both lower and upper chambers of Congress by Argentinian law.
  • Rosatti's relationship with the Fernández admin. has been strained from the start as he opposed several executive initiatives and rejected VP Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's claims of procedural flaws in the corruption case against her.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Tele Sur, MSN, Merco Press, Bloomberg, and Buenos Aires Herald.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by Ultimas Noticias. Leaked conversations between a senior far-right macrismo official in Buenos Aires and a prominent employee of the Supreme Court have revealed the biggest judicial scandal in the history of Argentine democracy, as the opposition and the judicial elite are unscrupulously waging lawfare on the government. There is no solution for Argentina other than impeaching these corrupt justices.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Argentina Detail Zero. The decadent Fernández admin. is once again desperately attacking the other branches of the State to intimidate and undermine them, seeking impunity while Argentines are suffering. Argentina needs strong institutions and a serious, democratic project to be able to finally progress.