Jasmine Bullorini
03/01/2021 3:17 PM
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 03/01/2021 3:35 PM
Without militancy in the streets and with only a third of the senators and deputies present in person, the opening ceremony of Alberto Fernández's ordinary sessions in a pandemic year
looked opaque but charged with political tension.
"He had four years to speak, why don't you let me speak?" The president retorted in the middle of his speech, annoyed by the remarks of PRO deputy
Fernando Iglesias
.
While his vice, Cristina Kirchner, put a hand on his arm to calm him down.
Fernández entered the venue five minutes after 12 - the scheduled time for the start of the speech - escorted by Cristina and the president of the lower house, Sergio Massa.
The Frente de Todos received him with applause while the legislators of Together for Change stood up but remained with folded hands and a stern gesture.
The only time the
opposition applauded was when the President asked to do so to honor health workers
.
There were no posters on the benches.
Only the deputy of the Left, Juan Carlos Giordano, posted one that read:
"I repudiate the VIP vaccination. Vaccines for everyone."
We received the president @alferdez from our bench with the only poster in the Legislative Assembly from @IzqSocialista pic.twitter.com/rwPSgRhPVw
- Juan Carlos Giordano (@GiordanoGringo) March 1, 2021
However, the "lilita" Mónica Frade wore
a mask of Governor Gildo Insfrán with a prisoner's hat.
She put on a black and white striped T-shirt, with a poster attached: "Clorinda 30.08.20", the date on which that town of Formosa prohibited the entry and exit of citizens.
When the President spoke of the package of proposals related to Justice, he turned his back.
Mónica Frade, on her bench, "prey" of Gildo Insfrán
The interruptions were repeated throughout the almost two hours of speech.
"Lázaro Báez," Iglesias said when the President spoke of "concentrated powers."
"Vaccinating friends is a crime,"
Waldo Wolff, also from PRO, shouted at him at another time.
In order not to get entangled in crossroads,
the FdT legislators only responded with the onomatopoeia "shh".
"It is part of the folklore of Congress. When (Mauricio) Macri came, Kirchnerism did everything. It is inadmissible that the president did not mention the VIP vaccination," Wolff later assured
Clarín.
Carlos Zannini, one of the VIP vaccinated, was in Congress.
Photo Federico Lopez Claro.
The cold stance and stern faces had already been agreed upon beforehand in the JxC interblock.
"We hope that the President will speak to the Homeland and not to the Homeland Institute",
Mario Negri sentenced before the start.
After the speech, he considered that the announcement of the formation of a lawsuit to investigate the debt contracted by the macrismo was "
the straw to get a ten in the Instituto Patria."
The truth is that this point of the speech was the most applauded - along with the court orders - by the All Front bloc
.
Cristinista Senator Anabel Fernández Sagasti, seated in front of everything, stood up to applaud the measure and was quickly followed by her colleagues.
All the senators of the Christian hard wing were present, except Oscar Parrilli.
During the assembly, the tension did not escalate because they were few
.
In the compound, only 65 of the 257 deputies and 25 of the 72 senators were present, after a PCR test that was carried out on Friday.
Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner at the opening of ordinary sessions of the National Congress.
The rest participated remotely, as did the governors and members of the Supreme Court, who this time had perfect attendance.
Last year only Carlos Rosenkrantz and Elena Highton had attended.
Five screens were set up to show virtual guests:
three for legislators, one for governors, and a fifth, on the tray next to the podium, for the members of the Court who posed together from the High Court Hall of Agreements.
In the boxes the ministers were located.
Among them, the Treasury Attorney, Carlos Zannini, is being targeted for being one of the officials who received the Sputnik vaccine registered as health personnel.
The brand new minister of that area, Carla Vizzotti, who took office after the forced resignation of Ginés González García was not present because she tested positive for Covid.
The chief of staff, Santiago Cafiero, although he tested negative, remained isolated as a precaution.
The two were connected in virtual form.
Several ministers and governors followed the session by video call.
The Minister of Public Works, Gabriel Katopodis, was the one who was more spirited and the one who started the song of "Alberto Presidente", with which Fernández was fired.
There were no smiles.
Only a sarcastic murmur in the JxC bench from Alberto Fernández's furcio when he said "subject and subject."
The vice president was almost silent.
He didn't clap, just nodded at some of the speech passages while drumming his fingers.
In the previous one, before the arrival of Fernández, she had been humorous.
"
We are very efficient and we already have it planned,
" he joked with the head of the Senate FdT bloc, José Mayans, when he complied with the protocol of asking to form the commission that receives the president.
The opening of sessions this year, which will be electoral, took place in the midst of the greatest political crisis that the government of Alberto Fernández had to face as a result of the scandal of the vaccinated VIPs that caused the forced resignation of the Minister of Health, Ginés González García .
On Saturday, the opposition of Together for Change put the face to a march against the Executive on that issue and new crosses were generated.
Opening of ordinary sessions 2021, in the box of the venue, Pablo González, Victoria Donda and Cecilia Nicolini.
/ Senate Communication
The use of mortuary bags with the names of personalities already vaccinated, among them, Plaza de Mayo's grandmother, Estela de Carlotto, unleashed the massive repudiation of the Frente de Todos and also of leaders of the opposition itself.
Hours later, the president asked groups of the ruling party, which had planned to make a "counter-march" to suspend it, with health arguments.
"We take care of our neighbor even if others do not," he said.
Although before La Cámpora had already decided not to leave the day before.
In the previous one, a stir was generated by the presence of legislators who had taken the PCR test on Friday and participated in the march on Saturday.
"They committed an act of irresponsibility," Senate sources assured and assured that the legislative employees were upset.
"We not only swab ourselves, we take care of ourselves, we keep our distance. We are not exempt from what happens to any Argentine. They don't need it because they secretly get vaccinated," Negri complained.