Fernandez, who has seen his popularity slide and whose ruling coalition was badly defeated in midterm congressional elections last year, said that the state would "challenge the members of the Supreme Court" and seek to have the ruling revoked. His remarks sparked off a backlash on both sides, some agreeing with the president that the ruling was unjustified and others saying the rejection of a Supreme Court decision set a dangerous precedent and undermined the justice system. "The president decided to break the constitutional order, completely violate the rule of law and attack democracy," said Buenos Aires city mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, who is seen as a potential 2023 presidential candidate. "This measure is, under current conditions, impossible to comply with," said Buenos Aires province Governor Axel Kicillof. "There are already 18 governors who denounce the partisan decision of the Supreme Court to benefit the head of the city government against all the provinces."

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