BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies on Friday broadly introduced a reform bill proposed by Libertarian President Javier Milei aimed at deregulating the economy, overcoming an impediment to the sweeping initiative after three days of heated debates.
But the fine print of the more than 300 articles of the omnibus bill, which adds economic, administrative, criminal and environmental changes, is still being negotiated in the lower house. The bill will also have to be approved by the Senate.
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On Friday, lower house lawmakers approved Milei’s initiative with 144 votes in favor and 109 against. The house goes into recess until Tuesday, when the deputies will begin negotiating the individual articles in the bill.
Milei thanked the opposition leaders who supported the initiative, who “understood the ancient context and chose to end caste privileges and corporate republics, in favor of the people, who have been impoverished and hungry. “
While they approved the omnibus legislation in general terms, some lawmakers have expressed reservations about articles relating to the privatization of state companies and the delegation of legislative powers to the president. Other articles in the bill aim to lift state controls over the economy, reform the administrative, health and education sectors, and raise public service and utility rates.
Taking the initiative to the legislative point tested the negotiating skills of Milei, an economist with little political experience who took over on Dec. 10. His Avanza la Libertad party is the 3rd most powerful in Congress and has no seats to impose its timetable on its own. .
The president, who describes himself as a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist, has promised to slash spending to offset a budget shortfall that he says is fueling inflation, which ended 2023 at 211%.
Since taking office, Milei has devalued Argentina’s currency by 50 percent, cut transport and energy subsidies, and said his government would renew the contracts of more than 5,000 state workers hired before he took office.
The measures and proposals have stirred protests in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital. Last week, the president faced a one-day general strike organized by the biggest union.
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