Government
Riots in Argentina over debate over legislative package
New President Javier Milei’s reform package is causing riots. It transfers part of the legislative power to the government for two years and enables the privatization of numerous state-owned companies. photo
© Rodrigo Abd/AP
Demonstrators hit officers with sticks and police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd. The trigger is a debate about a liberal legislative package.
During a marathon debate about a The ultra-liberal government’s legislative package in the Argentine Congress has led to violent clashes with security forces in the capital, Buenos Aires. Demonstrators beat officers with sticks and police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd, as seen on television.
Meanwhile, deputies in Congress debated for the second day in a row a comprehensive reform package from new President Javier Milei, which, among other things, transfers parts of the legislative power to the government for two years, enables the privatization of numerous state-owned companies and provides for changes to tax and electoral laws.
The economist Milei took office in mid-December and prescribed a radical cure for the economically stricken country. Since he does not have his own majority in parliament, he recently deleted a number of projects from the legislative package in order to secure the approval of other parties.
Argentina is in a serious economic crisis. The inflation rate is over 200 percent, and around 40 percent of people in the once wealthy country live below the poverty line. South America’s second largest economy suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of a lot of tax revenue. The national currency, the peso, continues to lose value against the US dollar and the mountain of debt is constantly growing.