The Federal Appeals Court of Tucumán ruled that Sergio Pagani cannot run for rector or vice-rector of the National University of Tucumán for the 2026-2030 term. The decision was adopted by four votes to one and reversed a first-instance judgment that had allowed his candidacy to remain. Pagani enters this electoral dispute after serving as vice-rector from 2018 to 2022 and rector from 2022 to 2026.
The ruling answered an appeal by the opposition ticket of Miguel Ángel Cabrera and Virginia Sara Luz Abdala. The court found that Judge Guillermo Díaz Martínez had failed to comply with its own 15 May injunction ordering the UNT not to receive, process or accredit tickets containing rectoral candidates who had already completed two consecutive terms. That interpretation was applied directly to Pagani's record.
The majority held that Article 17 of the university statute limits the re-election of rector and vice-rector to one time, meaning two consecutive terms in total. It connected that rule with Article 190, which recognises authorities serving a second term and sets the end of their functions in May 2026. On that reading, the court granted the declaratory action and established that Pagani was barred from either position on the ticket.
Judge Mario Rodolfo Leal dissented. Invoking university autonomy, he argued that the real issue was transitional law: whether terms served under the former statute should count after the comprehensive 2024 reform. He also noted that Electoral Board Resolution 5370/26, which authorised Pagani, remained in force because it had not been challenged through Article 32 of the Higher Education Law. His objection did not carry, but it exposes tension between the judicial ruling and the university electoral act.
The exclusion reshapes the governing ticket. Vice-Rector Mercedes Leal becomes the candidate for rector, and the group led by José Hugo Saab has 48 hours to register a vice-rector candidate. The deadline relies on Article 61 of the National Electoral Code, which provides for the order to shift when a final judgment finds a candidate ineligible and allows a replacement to be registered.
Names considered as Leal's running mate include Jorge Rospide, Susana del Valle Monserrat, María Inés Gómez and Mateo Martínez. The governing group had said it retained the support of twelve of the thirteen deans with or without Pagani. It must now choose the new member, formalise the ticket and convene the rescheduled University Assembly. The court settled the current rector's eligibility, but the election still depends on those steps and on reconciling the ruling with the Board's resolution.
