Overview
- The national government has set August as the month to build political agreements for a plan that would abolish the mandatory primary system called PASO and could allow multiple party lists, known as colectoras, to back the same executive candidate.
- The initiative is fracturing La Libertad Avanza after Patricia Bullrich publicly rejected colectoras and party negotiators — including Diego Santilli and Martín Menem — were named to lead talks with governors and centrist blocs.
- Eliminating PASO requires an absolute majority in both chambers of Congress, a threshold the ruling coalition lacks on its own, so the government must alter the proposal or win support from provincial lawmakers for it to pass.
- Opposition parties and many governors have rejected reintroducing colectoras and compared them to the old Ley de Lemas, arguing they would fragment parties, confuse voters and weaken electoral transparency.
- There is no formal bill yet, and reports note competing views about motive and impact: some officials argue the change would cut election costs and help provincial deals while at least one opinion columnist says critics view it as a move to favor President Javier Milei; historically, Mauricio Macri banned colectoras by decree in 2019 and constitutional rules limit emergency decrees on electoral law.