Argentine Senate

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For provincial legislatures, see List of provincial legislatures in Argentina.
Senate of the Nation

Senado de la Nación
2019–2021 period
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Upper house
of the National Congress of Argentina
Term limits
None
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)
Senado de la Nación Argentina, 2019.svg
Political groups
Government (41)
  •   Frente de Todos (41)

Opposition (31)

Length of term
6 years
Elections
Voting system
Limited voting
Last election
27 October 2019
(24 seats)
Next election
14 November 2021
(24 seats)
Meeting place
Michelle Bachelet at the Argentine Senate.jpg
Chamber of Senators, Congress Palace,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Website
senado.gob.ar
The Alfredo Palacios Senate Office Building

The Senate (Spanish: Senado de la Nación) is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina.

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
Bloc Parties Presidents
Everybody's Front (41) José Mayans
Together for Change (26)
(President: Luis Petcoff Naidenoff) 		Radical Civic Union (15) Luis Petcoff Naidenoff
PRO Front (8) Humberto Schiavoni
Civic and Social Front of Catamarca (1) Oscar Aníbal Castillo
Advance San Luis (1) Claudio Poggi
Production and Labour (1) Roberto Basualdo
Federal Parlamentarian (3)
(President: Juan Carlos Romero)[3] 		Federal Santa Fe (1) Carlos Reutemann
October the 8th Justicialist (1) Juan Carlos Romero
Neuquén Movement (1) Carmen Lucila Crexell
Front for the Renewal of Concord (1) Magdalena Solari
Together We Are 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]

Title Officeholder Caucus Province
President of the Senate Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Frente de Todos  Buenos Aires Province
Provisional President Claudia Ledesma Abdala Frente de Todos  Santiago del Estero
Vice President Martín Lousteau Juntos por el Cambio  Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
First Vice President Maurice Closs Frente de Todos  Misiones
Second Vice President Juntos por el Cambio  Córdoba
Parliamentary Secretary Marcelo Fuentes N/A
Administrative Secretary
Majority Leader José Mayans Frente de Todos  Formosa
Minority Leader Luis Petcoff Naidenoff Juntos por el Cambio  Formosa

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. ^ Jump up to: a b "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.

External links[]

Coordinates: 34°36′38″S 58°23′28″W / 34.6105°S 58.3910°W / -34.6105; -58.3910

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