The Chamber of Deputies entered an accelerated negotiation on disability policy after Alejandro Vilches resigned as secretary for the area. His departure left the governing coalition without a stable technical reference while it seeks votes to change the provisions included in the 2027 budget. Martín Menem is trying to produce an official report that narrows the executive branch's original cuts and competes with a proposal to extend the emergency regime.
The next stage is a joint meeting of the Disability and Budget committees scheduled for Wednesday. Among the texts is Peronist deputy Juan Marino's bill to extend the emergency, which has support from most blocs. Menem wants to arrive with a government alternative offering fewer benefits but preserving enough current rules to avoid another parliamentary defeat.
Before the committee meeting, the speaker will take the negotiations to two gatherings. At 2 p.m. he will brief the political table at the Casa Rosada, and two hours later he will meet non-Peronist blocs interested in a common report. Cabinet chief Diego Santilli supports the search for votes and is in contact with governors who may influence their representatives in Congress.
The main talks involve the UCR and PRO, although differences emerged over the weekend. PRO proposed indexing benefits every two months instead of monthly, but the idea failed to obtain agreement. Recent drafts have so far maintained the universal fee schedule and monthly adjustment, while debate has moved toward non-contributory pensions.
One central dispute concerns whether a pension can be combined with registered employment. The government's budget proposal introduces restrictions that the UCR rejects because a working person with a disability still faces specific costs. A socioeconomic assessment of each applicant is under consideration. The absence of consolidated audit data, which Vilches could not explain in his congressional appearance, makes common criteria harder to define.
The governing coalition says the system must identify beneficiaries more clearly and regularize pending cases. Menem and Santilli question whether a Single Disability Certificate should be sufficient to access a pension, although current rules already include income-related limits. Officials also say there were almost no new approvals in 2026, using that fact to support a review without accepting a full extension of the emergency.
The services debate also has a legal boundary. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, incorporated into Argentine law, bars regression in recognized rights. The 2027 budget seeks to eliminate universal treatment rates and leave prices to health insurers and prepaid medicine companies. That change lacks support even within the governing bloc, so recent drafts leave the chapter untouched.
The final text will depend on Tuesday's meetings and the conditions set by allied lawmakers. Oscar Herrera Ahuad demands that any end to the emergency guarantee pension updates, compensation and transport payments, while Patricia Bullrich has said the Senate will not support cuts in this field. On Wednesday, committees must choose between the extension, a negotiated government proposal or multiple reports for debate on the floor. The vote will also test the government coalition's ability to organize its allies and sustain a common solution.
