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Brazil & Southern Cone - April 2013 (ISSN 1741-4431)

ARGENTINA: Judicial changes to remain, with some concessions

Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Rosario and Tucumán to protest the government’s plans to “democratize” the judiciary on 18 April. Opposition leaders attended the rallies, though their presence at a demonstration organized largely via social media, and advertised repeatedly in the private press, merely highlighted how ineffective their attempts to challenge the government have become. A few days after the protest, the president of the supreme court, Ricardo Lorenzetti, published a letter sent to him by Council of Presidents of National and Federal Courts, which warned the reforms could “paralyze the justice system”. In a rare concession, President Cristina Fernández instructed her party to amend the reform bill along the lines suggested in the letter. Crucially, however, she ignored the judges’ plea to strike out the most controversial proposal: the election of judges to the powerful supervisory body, the Council of Magistrates.

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