Argentina's parliament passes President Milei's controversial reform package
After months of debates, the Argentine Parliament passed a controversial package of economic reforms proposed by ultraright President Javier Milei. "We will give the government of President Milei the tools to reform the state once and for all," said the head of the government block, Gabriel Bornoroni. Milei referred to the reform package as "the greatest tax adjustment not only in Argentine history, but in human history."
The self-proclaimed "Anarcho-Capitalist" intends to declare a one-year "economic emergency," which would allow him to dissolve bureaucracies and privatize state-owned companies. Additionally, pensions are to be reduced, and labor rights are to be curtailed. The reform package was originally almost three times as extensive and was scaled down to secure the approval of the Senate. Milei's party does not have a majority in both congressional chambers.
The approval by the Parliament can be politically assessed as a "complete success for the government," according to the political scientist and economist Pablo Tigani of the news agency AFP. For the economy, however, it is "a return to the politics of the 1990s, with deregulation, privatization, and unconditional opening of the economy, which will deal a heavy blow to the industry and national small and medium-sized enterprises."
The right-wing populist Milei, who is considered a Trump supporter, won the presidential election in November. Upon taking office, the ultraliberal Milei announced a "shock therapy" for Argentina, with which he intends, according to his own statements, to get a handle on galloping inflation and advance the economy. He devalued the Argentine Peso and drastically cut state subsidies. Protests against his course are a regular occurrence.
The ultraright President Milei now has the Parliament's approval to implement the largest tax adjustment in not just Argentine history, but human history, as he referred to it. This reform package will give Milei the power to dismantle bureaucracies and privatize state-owned companies, resulting in reduced pensions and curtailed labor rights. Despite not having a majority in both congressional chambers, Milei's party managed to secure the Senate's approval for a scaled-down version of the initial reform package.
