The president of Argentina, the ultraliberal Javier Milei, presented this Wednesday to Congress a package of lawstexts that contemplate the deregulation of the economy after the decree approved by the president last week, measures that provoked demonstrations against him and that so far have resulted in six detainees.
Called by the main labor unions, thousands of people gathered in front of the Court Palace in Buenos Aires to request 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 unconstitutionality,” Gerardo Martínez, general secretary of the construction union, one of those who led the demonstration to which social organizations also joined.
This initiative will come into force on Friday, within the framework of a strong fiscal adjustment that already involved a devaluation of the peso of more than 50%.
“We come to say no to the decree because it takes over one of the powers of the State, the Congress,” Adrián Grana, one of the protesters, told AFP for whom the presidential initiative “is a decalogue to favor the powerful at the expense of from town”.
Life, liberty and property
The demonstration took place peacefully until after noon, when a group of people had small altercations with police who were trying to prevent them from closing a street.
Six protesters were arrested, according to the press.
The Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francosdelivered a draft “omnibus law” to parliament, which includes a reform of the electoral system and the tax regime, 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.
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Congress opened extraordinary sessions on Tuesday to discuss these laws.
Milei, who took office on December 10 with the promise of reducing State spending, has already announced that he will not renew the contracts of 7,000 public employees.
The president aspires for the adjustment of public spending to reach the equivalent of 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Tripartite dialogue”
The decree limits the right to strike, modifies labor agreements and the dismissal compensation system, and also repeals laws to protect consumers against abusive price increases when annual inflation exceeds 160% and 40% of the population lives in the poverty.
“Today we go to justice, 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 Martínez.
The union leader urged the government to “form a collective tripartite dialogue table with businessmen and unions, as other countries that have gone through a severe adjustment have had.”
He Congresswhere the ruling party is the third minority, can invalidate the decree, but it is a procedure that would take several months.
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The initiative repeals the law on retirement mobility and the law that regulates rents, frees the price of bank commissions and punitive rates for debts and allows sports clubs to become public limited companies.
“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 justice system opened a file to analyze a collective protection against the decree.
“All the measures affect me completely, 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 that this government makes against the Argentine people,” she added.