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The ultraliberal and anarchocapitalist economist Javier Milei won Argentina's presidential election in November
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- Author: Veronica Smink
- Role, BBC News Mundo, Argentina
1 hour ago
Government spokesman Manuel Adorni said that the project “Fundamentals and starting points for the freedom of Argentines” would be discussed in extraordinary sessions in Congress until the end of January.
Milei himself emphasized that this project is the most profound of all initiatives, as it contains “two thirds” of all his reform proposals.
Earlier, when the president had only been in office for 48 hours, his economy minister, Luis Caputo, announced ten “emergency measures” to address Argentina’s economic crisis, including a brutal devaluation of the peso, which lost half of its face value to the US dollar in a single day .
In his second week in power, Milei himself announced on national television the details of the controversial Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU), through which the executive branch seeks to amend or repeal 366 laws regulating various sectors of the economy.
It is a “decree” that has already raised questions in court and triggered cacerolazos (panelaços) and demonstrations shortly after its announcement.
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Shortly after they were announced, Milei's reform proposals were met with protests on the streets
“Public emergency”
The most striking and, according to opponents, most worrying part of the package announced on Wednesday is the one that proposes declaring a “public emergency in the areas of economics, finance, taxation, social security, security, defense, tariffs, energy, health”. Administrative and social affairs until December 31, 2025.”
This period could be “extended by the national executive for a maximum of TWO (2) years.”
In practice, if this rule were adopted, Milei would have the power to decide during his four years of government on all of these issues, on which only Parliament can legislate today.
In other words, Milei would have power over the executive and legislative branches in his hands, a controversial proposal that in practice has little chance of being approved by the parliamentarians of the ruling party A Liberdade Avança, who are in the minority in Congress become.
privatization
The more than 600 articles in the proposed package change around twenty laws.
There is a chapter on state reform, which proposes declaring all public sector companies “subject to privatization”.
This would affect 40 stateowned companies, including the oil company YPF, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Banco Nación, Casa de Moneda, the Télam news agency, the water company AYSA and Ferrocarriles Argentinos.
The chapter on electoral reform ends with primaries (known by the acronym PASO: Primary, Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory), which have caused controversy since their introduction in 2009.
It is also proposed to change the composition of the Chamber of Deputies, moving from the current system that distributes the number of deputies proportionally to the local population, to a system that would divide the country into 254 zones, each with one deputy.
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Milei's government called the package the “Law of Foundations and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines” project.
The package also imposes new restrictions on demonstrations, increasing penalties to up to four years in prison for anyone who uses weapons to disrupt public transportation or up to five years for anyone who “leads, organizes, or conducts a meeting or demonstration coordinated, which prevents or hinders”. traffic or public or private transport”.
The penalty would be even higher if it was proven that people were blackmailed into taking part in a protest rally by threatening to withdraw social assistance.
However, the government's proposal would eliminate penalties for those who use weapons “in the performance of a duty or in the legitimate exercise of their rights, powers or status.”
Currently, Argentina's penal code only allows the use of weapons by security forces when “their life or the lives of others are in danger.”
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New package brings more restrictions on protests
viability
Although some of the proposals particularly electoral reform are supported by various political forces, it is likely that many of the package's 664 articles will ultimately not be adopted.
“Milei conveyed his idea of a perfect Argentina, but did not take much into account the political feasibility,” said Pablo Fernández Blanco, an analyst at broadcaster LN+.
Although Milei won the second round with almost 56% of the vote, in the first round valid for obtaining seats in Congress, Milei only achieved 30% and came second, 7 points behind KirchnerismPeronism, which had over one Majority in both. The houses.
With these results, A Liberdade Avança currently has around 40 seats in the Chamber and only 7 in the Senate which represents 15% of the entire Congress.
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The Argentine Congress, where Javier Milei's party has a minority
The ruling party is expected to receive the full support of the centerright “Together for Change” coalition, which is on the verge of a break due to disagreements over the alliance with Milei.
While Congress debates the new package in extraordinary sessions called by Milei until January 31, we will have to wait for the regular sessions starting in March to find out what the “decree” will look like if it is not blocked beforehand by the courts .
In contrast to the legislative package, which is voted on section by section, the DNU must be approved or rejected in its entirety by both legislative chambers and it only remains in force with the consent of parliamentarians.