Twelve deputies from Argentina’s oldest political party, the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), broke ranks from the party bloc in the Chamber of Deputies over some of its members’ support for President Javier Milei.

Starting Thursday, Pablo Juliano will preside over a 12-deputy bloc critical of the president called Democracia para Siempre (Democracy Forever). They split from the original bloc led by Rodrigo de Loredo, which retained 21 lawmakers.

Tensions within the bloc have been escalating for months. A group of five UCR lawmakers backed both of Milei’s presidential vetoes, one blocking a bill increasing retiree pensions and another aiming to secure university funding. UCR members are usually called radicales (radicals), those who backed Milei’s initiatives were called radicales con peluca —........

© Buenos Aires Herald