By Deutsche Welle
Dec 23, 2023, 7:44 PM EST
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, called Parliament to extraordinary sessions this Saturday to discuss a package of laws to reform the State and a controversial megadecree with extensive deregulation of the economy, as well as trade agreements with other countries. The call is made shortly after a strike against the reforms proposed by the president.
This package of laws, to be discussed between December 26 and January 31, are part of Milei’s reform program, which could not be included in the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) to deregulate the economy and the public sector and that generated widespread rejection from Argentine society.
In the details of the initiatives sent to the National Congress, the bill to reform the functions of the State stands out, which will seek to accompany and deepen the fiscal initiatives and cut public spending, in addition to initiatives for the restitution of taxes on salaries, modifications to the electoral law and State reforms.
Various changes
A section would also be included with changes in the Public Administration that would enable the privatization of state companies, one of the president’s campaign promises, as well as the possibility of establishing a Single Paper Ballot at the national level in the following elections, where voters They will be able to see the names of the candidates and all the political forces on an individual ballot, a measure that would save printing costs.
However, the main dish is contained in the megadecree with more than 300 reforms that will change the daily lives of Argentines. Among other modifications, the decree repeals the rental law, which will be without a period, without price caps and in any currency. It also extends the work trial period from three to eight months, eliminates protections for workers and laws that protect consumers from abusive price increases, when inflation exceeds 160 percent annually and poverty exceeds 40 percent.
Congress has ten days to endorse or reject the decree in its entirety, without being able to open the details of its content to discussion, according to the regulations for the treatment of decrees of necessity and urgency. The decree is approved by a simple majority and will come into force anyway on December 29 if it is not dealt with within the established period. On the other hand, to invalidate it, both chambers must reject it.