BUENOS AIRES_ After the dust that raised the shipment to Congress of a megaproject to change current legislation on economic, fiscal, electoral, social and security matters, the government of Javier Milei stated that the initiative aims to ensure that the Argentine State “stops bothering citizens.”
“We want a State that does not digitize our lives. Don’t tell us what we have to do and what we shouldn’t do, but rather that we can decide for ourselves,” government spokesman Manuel Adorni said Thursday in his usual press conference. “And it results in economic activity returning to flourish once and for all in the Argentine Republic.”
The official initiative also proposes an electoral reform, toughens penalties against street protests, proposes a tax amnesty, annuls the formula that established the increase in pensions, enables the privatization of public companies, deregulates the hydrocarbon market, and tariffs education. public university for non-resident foreigners, makes environmental legislation more flexible and opens the door to divorce without judicial intervention, among others.
Adjustments and deregulation for Argentina
The package sent to Congress is complemented by the adjustment plan and a decree to deregulate the economy that the president ordered after taking office on December 10 and that mark a paradigm shift after decades of populist policies.
The ruling party, Libertad Avanza, is the third force in Congress—no more than 40 deputies out of a total of 257 and eight senators out of 72—so the negotiating capacity of President Milei himself and his legislators will be put to the test. in the parliamentary debate.
From the Together for Change coalition, the second force in Congress, the deputy and economist Martín Tetaz supported the articles that propose a reform of the State and deregulations, but he announced that “we are not going to give extraordinary powers (to the president), we are not going to raise taxes and we are not going to adjust retirees.”
In response to the criticism, spokesman Adorni indicated that “we understand how extensive, deep and essential this law is. We know that there are people who are not willing to change, we know that there are people willing to put a spanner in the works even though Argentina is in ruins… Up to this point, the model applied by politics has not worked. Today half of Argentina is poor.”
The megaproject will be discussed during the period of extraordinary sessions that will last until March. During that period, different legislative commissions will analyze the articles and must issue an opinion that enables their vote in the Chamber of Deputies and then go to the Senate and follow the same procedure. If there are modifications, it will return to Deputies.
The constitutionalists warned about the complexity of the debate, since some initiatives such as the electoral reform require a different majority than others for their approval.
Source: AP
