The reform plans of the new Argentine President Milei have stalled. In the hope of gaining a majority in parliament, the right-wing libertarian politician has now also canceled the pension and tax reform.
The new Argentine President Javier Milei, who took office with radical reform promises, is making further cuts to his plans in the face of growing resistance. His government slimmed down the draft legislative package on Friday by removing pension and tax reform from the mammoth project.
With the concessions, Milei hopes to get support for his reform project from other parties in Congress. His party La Libertad Avanza only has a small number of seats and is the third strongest force in the fragmented parliament.
The bill will be discussed starting Tuesday. The Senate must also approve the package. The opposition is demanding far-reaching changes and is threatening to tear the text apart in separate debates. One of the previously abandoned plans is the privatization of the state oil company YPF.
Right-libertarian program
The omnibus law affects changes to several hundred laws. It is a central instrument for reducing the size of the state apparatus, reducing regulations, cutting subsidies, privatizing state-owned companies and collecting social benefits. Milei, who won the elections with a right-wing libertarian agenda, promises to lead Argentina out of the misery that has been going on for years by unleashing the economy.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Friday that the huge budget deficit could be eliminated despite changes to the omnibus law. According to Caputo, inflation is currently over 200 percent. However, their increase has slowed significantly in the past two weeks.
Resistance among the population
In Argentina, however, resistance to the Mileis course is beginning to form. According to unions, more than a million people stopped work during a general strike on Wednesday.
The central union CGT spoke of 1.5 million strikers, around a tenth of the officially employed population. The government and police reported much lower numbers. The CGT had called the strike in protest against the government’s reforms.
According to recent polls, Milei still enjoys the support of about half of the population. When he was elected in November, he received 55.6 percent of the vote. However, reactions to his reforms are divided: a large proportion of Argentines support innovations such as simplified divorce, higher tuition fees for foreigners and the abolition of area codes. However, the special powers for the government, privatizations or pension reform are met with widespread rejection.