On 16 April last, the Senate of the Nation approved the bill that seeks to regulate the financing of political parties in the face of national elections. For 48 votes in favor and 2 negatives, the initiative exceeded the 37 votes required and had the support contemplated by law. According to the agenda, today the House of Deputies could do the same. Since 11:00, the legislators that make up the site will be able to present their respective opinions of majority and minority and after the dissidences and observations contemplated by law, to vote for the project in question. Let us remember that since the national electoral reform of 2009, Argentina has a system of financing of the Parties and the national electoral campaigns that is based mainly on public contributions.
Public funding is then earmarked for the Permanent Support Fund; Contributions printing of ballots; Campaign contributions; Advertising spaces in audiovisualesPor media their part the private side is where, for example, anonymous contributions from unions, public companies, government entities, professional associations, gambling and the Foreign. In campaign periods, legal persons (companies) are also disabled. That is to say, it guarantees a certain equality by allowing the access of all the parties and candidates to the mass media. However, there are also signs that the greatest amount of party spending and campaigns occur informally. Why is it urgent to amend the current law?
Current rules encourage informality, allow all campaigns to be financed in cash, while controls are post-election. This allows, according to a report by the CIPPEC, that more than 30% of the groupings that competed in the last presidential elections have not presented campaigns and that many of the groupings that did do declare an amount lower than the really Spent. In this sense is that it is urgent to have a law that from the “banking” posed that the money is not contributed in cash, something that encourages the lack of transparency and in many cases money laundering. Another important point is the regular power that official advertising that the state grants is not distributed informally or used for partisan purposes. For this it is important a third aspect and it is the power to carry out effective controls during (and not after) the campaigns and to have agencies to sanction the practices outlawed. In this note:
