Argentine Senate

The Argentine Senate (Spanish: Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina; lit. "Honourable Senate of the Argentine Nation") is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina.

For provincial legislatures, see List of provincial legislatures in Argentina.
Argentine Senate

Senado
2019–2021 period
Type
Type
Leadership
President of the Senate
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, FdT
since 10 December 2019
Provisional President
Claudia Ledesma Abdala, FdT
since 10 December 2019
Majority Leader
José Mayans (FdT)
since 10 December 2019
First Minority Leader
Luis Naidenoff (UCR - JxC)
since 10 December 2019
Structure
Seats72 (List)
Political groups
Government (41)

Opposition (31)

Elections
Limited voting
Last election
27 October 2019
Next election
2023
Meeting place
Chamber of Senators, Congress Palace,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Website
senado.gob.ar
The Alfredo Palacios Senate Office Building

Overview

The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 1853 Constitution.[1] There are 72 members: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The number of senators per province was raised from two to three following the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution, and the change took effect following the May 14, 1995, general elections.

Senators are elected to six-year terms by direct election on a provincial basis, with the party with the most votes being awarded two of the province's senate seats and the second-place party receiving the third seat. Historically, Senators were indirectly elected to nine-year terms by each provincial legislature. These provisions were abrogated by a 1994 constitutional amendment, and direct elections to the Senate took effect in 2001. Currently one-third of the members are elected every two years. One-third of the provinces hold senatorial elections every two years; there are no term limits.

The Vice President of the Republic is ex officio President of the Senate, with a casting vote in the event of a tie. In practice, the Provisional President presides over the chamber most of the time.

The Senate must obtain quorum to deliberate, this being an absolute majority. It has the power to approve bills passed by the Chamber of Deputies, call for joint sessions with the Lower House or special sessions with experts and interested parties, and submit bills for the president's signature; bills introduced in the Senate must, in turn, be approved by the Lower House for their submittal to the president. The Senate must introduce any changes to federal revenue sharing policies, ratify international treaties, approve changes to constitutional or federal criminal laws, as well as confirm or impeach presidential nominees to the cabinet, the judiciary, the armed forces, and the diplomatic corps, among other federal posts.[2]

There are twenty-four standing committees made up of fifteen members each, namely:[2]

  • Agreements (confirmation of federal nominees)
  • Constitutional Affairs
  • Foreign Affairs and Worship
  • Justice and Criminal Affairs
  • General Legislation
  • Budget and Finance
  • Administrative and Municipal Affairs
  • National Defense
  • Domestic Security and Drug Trafficking
  • National Economy and Investment
  • Industry and Trade
  • Regional Economies, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
  • Labor and Social Security
  • Agriculture, Cattle Raising and Fishing
  • Education, Culture, Science and Technology
  • Rights and Guarantees
  • Mining, Energy and Fuels
  • Health and Sports
  • Infrastructure, Housing and Transport
  • Systems, Media and Freedom of Speech
  • Environment and Human Development
  • Population and Human Development
  • Federal Revenue Sharing
  • Tourism.

Requirements

According to Section 55 of the Argentine Constitution, candidates for the Argentine Senate must:

  • be at least 30 years old
  • have been a citizen of Argentina for six years
  • be native to the province of his office, or have been a resident of that province for two years.

Composition
See List of current members of the Argentine Senate
Block Parties Presidents
Frente de Todos (41) José Mayans
Juntos por el Cambio (26)
(President: Luis Petcoff Naidenoff)		 Unión Cívica Radical (15) Luis Petcoff Naidenoff
Frente Pro (8) Humberto Schiavoni
Frente Cívico y Social de Catamarca (1) Oscar Aníbal Castillo
Avanzar San Luis (1) Claudio Javier Poggi
Producción y Trabajo (1) Roberto Gustavo Basualdo
Parliamentario Federal (3)
(President: Juan Carlos Romero)[3]		 Santa Fe Federal (1) Carlos Reutemann
Justicialista 8 de Octubre (1) Juan Carlos Romero
Movimiento Neuquino (1) Carmen Lucila Crexell
Frente Renovador de la Concordia (1) Magdalena Solari
Juntos Somos Río Negro (1) Alberto Weretilneck

The current members of the Senate were elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Senate leadership

The titular President of the Senate is the Vice President of Argentina. However, day to day leadership of the Senate is exercised by the Provisional President.

Current leadership positions include:[4]

TitleOfficeholderCaucusProvince
President of the SenateCristina Fernández de KirchnerFrente de Todos Buenos Aires Province
Provisional PresidentClaudia Ledesma AbdalaFrente de Todos Santiago del Estero
Vice PresidentMartín LousteauJuntos por el Cambio Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
First Vice PresidentMaurice ClossFrente de Todos Misiones
Second Vice PresidentLaura Rodríguez MachadoJuntos por el Cambio Córdoba
Parliamentary SecretaryMarcelo Fuentes N/A
Administrative SecretaryMaría Luz Alonso
Majority LeaderJosé MayansFrente de Todos Formosa
Minority LeaderLuis Petcoff NaidenoffJuntos por el Cambio Formosa
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See also

References
  1. "Sesiónes preparatorias e incorporación y juramento de los senadores electos". Argentine Senate. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18.
  2. "National Senate Regulations" (PDF). Argentine Senate. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-24.
  3. "Comunicación de Senadores, número de expediente 3417/19". Retrieved 21 Dec 2019.
  4. "Autoridades". Honorable Senado de la Nación. Retrieved January 5, 2020.

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