La Derecha Diario Javier Milei's Government Achieved the Approval of the Reiteration Law
The Senate approved with 67 votes the bill that modifies recidivism and repeat offenses within sentences.
The Senate approved the Trial in Absentia and Recidivism bills on Thursday night. Both proposals from Javier Milei's government, which had already received half approval in the Chamber of Deputies, aim to amend the Penal Code.
The first allows a judicial process to continue without the presence of the defendant, while the second increases penalties for those who reoffend.
The recidivism and reiteration project seeks to amend the Penal Code to toughen recidivism conditions. A person convicted at least twice to custodial sentences will be considered a recidivist, provided that the first conviction is final.
Additionally, the regulation would eliminate the "revolving door" in minor offenses, such as shoplifting, which currently do not entail immediate imprisonment.
The president of the Criminal Legislation Committee in Deputies, Laura Rodríguez Machado (PRO), explained that the project establishes the accumulation of sentences, eliminating the application of mixed sanctions.
Furthermore, a new criterion is incorporated for sentencing: judges must consider prior charges, the risk of flight, and the possibility of obstructing the case.
Trial in Absentia
Previously, the Senate also approved the Trial in Absentia project, which received 46 votes in favor, 21 against, and no abstentions. Meanwhile, the Recidivism initiative was unanimously supported, with 67 positive votes.
This tool will be incorporated into the Penal Code to enable the trial or continuation of a judicial process when the accused is a fugitive or their whereabouts are unknown. The measure had already received prior approval from the Chamber of Deputies.
The project establishes that its application will be limited to serious crimes and can only be used when the defendant, despite being aware of the process, doesn't appear or respond, and after attempts to locate them for a period of four months.
The mechanism is often mentioned in debates about the lack of progress in the AMIA case, where the Iranian suspects were summoned to testify in 2006, but since then have not appeared before Argentine justice.
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