Constitutional Reform

Debate on expanding suffrage to include 16-18-year-olds and amending the constitution continued yesterday:

José Manuel de la Sota, Córdoba governor (Peronist)

“Giving teenagers the vote at 16 could be a good idea, but it is more important to give them work. There are a million unemployed young people in Argentina. Beyond the vote, which is a political issue, in the three years that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has left we could resolve the issue of unemployment.”

Gabriel Mariotto, lieutenant governor Buenos Aires province, Victory Front

“It is a bill that aims to expand rights and citizenship. Young people have a lot of vocation towards participating, because this government has expanded citizenship in various aspects.”

Mauricio Macri, Buenos Aires City Mayor (PRO)

“Providing the young with greater space and bigger responsibilies is a wonderful idea, but I do not like the fact that the bill to give votes to 16-year-olds would be used by (President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration) for electoral ends. In my opinion, it is an error to implement thinking that one will gain more votes, this is an unnecessary harrassment.”

Francisco de Narváez, national deputy, (Federal Peronist)

“It is one thing to live in a country and quite another to be a nationalized citizen, which converts the foreign citizen into an Argentine, who can then vote. I agree with the law as is currently set by the Constitution, and against amendments (to allow foreigners to vote), which appears to me to be an electoral maneuvre by the Kirchnerites.”

Socialist Workers Party (PTS)

“We could not be further from the position of the right-wing opposition. 16-year-olds and immigrants who are resident in this country must have the right to universal suffrage in the same way that the rest of the population has, and even stand for elections. However, the government proposal seems to be based on mere electoral calculations, rather than giving the right to vote for all.”