The Argentine Senate approved on Thursday the economic and tax reform projects with which President Javier Milei seeks to ensure governability, in his first legislative victory since he assumed power six months ago.
The senators generally approved the two official projects but during the vote on their articles they modified and eliminated some points considered vital for the government during a session of more than 20 hours that took place in the midst of violent street protests led by leftist groups.
Both initiatives will now be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies and, if approved, will be Milei’s first laws since he became president.
While the debate was going on in the Senate, there were violent clashes between the security forces guarding the legislative headquarters and protesters from different left-wing social and political organizations whom President Milei’s office branded “terrorists” and accused of seeking to “perpetrate a coup d’état” against him.
Milei, a libertarian economist who aims to limit state intervention in the economy, has been fighting to get his first laws since he came to power six months ago and has faced resistance especially from Kirchnerism — the center-left Peronist sector that governed much of the last 20 years and is the leading force in both chambers.
The Chamber of Deputies, which in April had approved and then sent the two projects to the Senate, will have to analyze the legislative texts in the coming days to decide whether to accept the modifications made by the senators or insist on the original versions that contemplated deeper reforms.
Because it is at a clear disadvantage in the upper house with only seven of the 72 senators, La Libertad Avanza, the party led by the president, was forced to give in on its original objectives during the negotiations against the clock that took place in recent years. days.
“Despite modifications that have arisen in the facility itself and some issues that have fallen, it remains an impressive triumph up to this point,” the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos, said in a conversation with a radio station, and recalled that the initiatives are still They must go through the lower house. “This law does not solve all of Argentina’s problems…. but it is a tool that will allow us to advance on many of the pending issues.”
The first project declares a public emergency in administrative, economic, financial and energy matters for a period of one year and empowers the Executive Branch to grant itself special powers in these areas. It also includes incentives for large investments for 30 years, such as facilities for the exploitation of natural resources and transfers of profits abroad.
Regarding the modifications, the ruling party agreed to exclude Aerolíneas Argentinas, Correo Argentino and public media from the list of state companies that can be privatized. On the other hand, a chapter that eliminated a provisional moratorium for workers who do not reach the 30 years of contributions required by law to retire was withdrawn from the project.
Regarding the fiscal package, the senators rejected an entire chapter that contemplated the reestablishment of a salary tax for thousands of workers and that the government needed to rebuild the treasury’s income.
“The President has maintained that the State is a criminal organization, that he feels deep contempt for the State because it is the enemy (…) Are we seriously going to give that Government delegated powers?” said the opposition senator. Martín Lousteau during the debate in the Upper House.
Many senators voted in favor of the law in general terms, but they will promote changes in some points of the project with which Milei intends to achieve investments that boost an economy in decline and with inflation exceeding 200% annually. Peronism and other opposition parties will vote mostly against.
Outside Congress, the protest by unions, left-wing parties and private protesters led to a confrontation with the police, which left several people injured, a car set on fire and around 30 arrested.
“Today we saw two Argentinas, a violent one that sets a car on fire, that throws stones (…) and another Argentina, that of the workers who are waiting with deep pain and sacrifice for the vote that in November of last year elected a change,” said Vice President Victoria Villarruel when explaining her vote in favor of the project that tipped the balance during the vote.
After assuming power in December, Milei applied a monumental adjustment in public spending that brought balance to the fiscal accounts but also triggered poverty that exceeded 50% of the population.
Milei, who aims to limit the intervention of the State in the economy, has been fighting to obtain his first laws since he came to power against the resistance of the opposition, especially from Kirchnerism, the sector of center-left Peronism that governed much of it. of the last 20 years and is the leading force in both chambers.
After the vote, the president celebrated on social media what he described as a “historic general approval” of the Base Law.
“Tonight is a triumph for the Argentine people and the first step towards the recovery of our greatness, having approved the most ambitious legislative reform of the last forty years,” he added.
At an economic forum, the controversial Argentine president attacked Congress on Wednesday.
“We have 3,200 more structural reforms to send and, if we don’t send them now, we will send them starting December 11, 2025 (after the midterm elections),” he said.
“We are going to create a liberal Argentina and we are going to be the most liberal country in the world and in 40 years we are going to become the first world power,” Milei predicted.
In recent days, political uncertainty had an impact on the markets, with the fall of Argentine sovereign bonds and the depreciation of the peso, which widened the difference between the official exchange rate and that of the parallel market to above 35%.
[Con información de Reuters y AP]
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.
Add Comment