Senate postpones Cabinet Chief's visit

The Senate postponed Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Abal Medina’s visit, which was scheduled for Wednesday, due to the fact that the Government official did not reply to the questions sent by senators. The Cabinet Chief must give a report on President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration.

Despite the fact that the Upper House will debate on Wednesday the decrees stating YPF’s intervention, the Cabinet Chief’s visit was postponed until Wednesday 6th.

The decision was taken during the Parliamentary Labour committee meeting, in which opposition lawmakers requested Abal Medina’s visit was suspended, due to the fact that the answers to the questionnaire they sent two weeks ago had not yet arrived in the Upper House.

According to regulation, senators must send their questions to the Cabinet Chief 15 days in advance and he must send the answers 48 hours before his visit to Congress.

However, and for the first time since 1994, the Cabinet Chief failed to answer the questions which senators are supposed to ask him about during the session.

Nonetheless, sources of the Parliamentary Secretariat assured that the senators sent Abal Medina over 500 questions, a record amount for a Cabinet Chief with less than six months on the job.