Thousands of Argentinians protest against reforms by new President Milei
"We are not questioning the legitimacy of President Milei, but we want him to respect the separation of powers," emphasized Gerardo Martínez, chairman of the construction union. The decree destroys all labor rights, added 45-year-old teacher Martin Lucero.
The decree launched by right-wing populist Milei provides for 350 existing laws to be amended or abolished, including in rental and labor law. Other aspects include the end of automatic pension increases, the removal of some employee protection provisions and the repeal of laws to protect against abusive price increases. In order to reduce government spending, 7,000 public sector jobs are also to be cut.
If Congress approves the plan, the decree will come into force on Friday. However, Milei's radical right-wing party La Libertad Avanza is in the minority in both chambers of Congress, with only 40 out of 257 deputies and seven out of 72 senators. However, both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate would have to reject the decree in order to block the reforms.
Elected in November, Milei promised the highly indebted country "shock therapy" when he took office on December 10. The 53-year-old political novice has taken over Latin America's third-largest economy in the midst of a severe economic crisis: Inflation has risen to more than 160 percent and more than 40 percent of the population live in poverty.
Read also:
- This will change in December
- Attacks on ships in the Red Sea: shipping companies avoid important trade route
- Houthi rebels want to launch further attacks despite international coalition
- USA forms military coalition against Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea
Source: www.stern.de
