December 28 |

The President of Argentina, the ultra-liberal Javier Milei, presented this Wednesday to Congress a package of laws, texts which contemplate the deregulation of the economy after the decree approved by the President last week, measures which provoked demonstrations against him and which so far resulted in six arrests.

Convened by the main labor centers, thousands of people gathered in front of the Palace of Tribunals in Buenos Aires to demand that the decree published last week to reform or repeal more than 300 regulations be declared unconstitutional.

“We do not question the legitimacy of President Milei, but we want him to respect the division of powers. Workers have the need to defend their rights when there is an unconstitutionality,” Gerardo Martínez, secretary general of the construction union, one of those who led the demonstration which was also joined by social organizations, told the press.

This initiative will come into force on Friday, within the framework of a strong fiscal adjustment that has already implied a devaluation of the peso of more than 50%.

Advertisement

20250407_mh_renta_728x90

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

“We have come to say no to the decree because it takes away one of the powers of the State, the Congress”, said to AFP Adrian Grana, one of the demonstrators for whom the presidential initiative “is a decalogue to favor the powerful to the detriment of the people”.

The demonstration developed peacefully until after midday, when a group of people had small altercations with police officers who were trying to prevent them from closing a street.

Six demonstrators were arrested, according to the press.

The Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, delivered to parliament a draft “omnibus law”, which includes a reform of the electoral system and the tax system, in addition to allowing the privatization of public companies, among other measures.

“We promote these reforms in the name of the May Revolution of 1810 and in defense of the life, liberty and property of Argentines,” Milei wrote in his X account when announcing the legislative project that completes his decree.

Advertisement

20250407_mh_renta_728x90

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

Congress opened extraordinary sessions on Tuesday to deal with these laws.

Milei, who took office on December 10 with the promise to reduce State spending, has already announced that he will not renew the contracts of 7,000 public employees.

The President hopes that the adjustment of public spending will reach the equivalent of 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The decree limits the right to strike, modifies labor agreements and the system of severance pay, also repeals laws protecting consumers against abusive price increases when annual inflation exceeds 160% and 40% of the population live in poverty.

“Today we are going to court, but there is another chapter focused on the Congress that will have to give a deep debate” on the content of the decree, said Gerardo Martinez.

Advertisement

20250407_mh_renta_728x90

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

The union leader urged the government to “form a collective tripartite dialogue table with employers and unions, as other countries that have gone through a severe adjustment have had”.

The Congress, where the ruling party is the third minority, can invalidate the decree, but this would take several months.

The initiative repeals the retirement mobility law and the law regulating rents, frees the price of bank commissions and punitive rates for debts and allows sports clubs to become corporations.

“It is destructive of all labor rights. The Argentine people elected Milei as president of the Nation, not as emperor,” criticized Martín Lucero, a 45-year-old teacher who came from Rosario to support the march.

Last week the courts opened a file to analyze a collective appeal against the decree.

Advertisement

20250407_mh_renta_728x90

20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90

20231124_etesal_728x90_1

20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90

domfuturo_netview-728x90

20240604_dom_728x90

CEL

“All the measures go right through me, they are going to starve us,” said Sofía Julián, a 33-year-old employee who came to the march from the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires. “We are united and organized and we are going to continue fighting to oppose the decisions taken by this government against the Argentine people,” she added.