WORLD WORLDWIDE #ITALY #ARGENTINA News Journal Update - (en) Italy, UCADI, #181: Argentina in the coils of Milei (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The installation of the Milei as President of the country was
characterized by the issuing of three provisions (out of the 10
announced) which due to their complexity and nature represent the key to
understanding his political program . Aware of the fact that he does not
have a majority in Parliament and does not control the Governors of the
different regions of the country, Milei, who was elected in the run-off
with a majority of 56% of the votes, only has around 10% of the votes in
the Senate in Congress and 15% in the Chamber of Deputies. His party, La
Libertad Avanza , has only 38 deputies out of 257 and 8 senators out of
72: it will therefore need the support and complicity of the right to
get its liberticidal measures approved.
The President immediately got to work and the peso-dollar ratio was
halved and now 800 pesos are needed for every dollar. Dollarization
forgotten, Milei plans to mint new coins within a few months to avoid
having to go around with suitcases of banknotes to take care of every
transaction. Milei promised that more devaluations will soon follow. To
make it clear to the Argentinians who they are dealing with, Milei took
steps with his first measure to repeal the law that prohibited nepotism
and to appoint his sister as secretary of the Presidency.
The international monetary fund immediately pounced on its prey and here
was the agreement: a budget surplus of 2% of GDP was guaranteed, an
accumulation of fresh reserves of the Central Bank, equal to 10 billion
dollars in 2024, in exchange for an outlay of $4.7 billion in interest
on the debt incurred. These are the new terms set in the seventh
revision of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement for the repayment
of the 45 billion dollar credit granted by the IMF in 2018. With this
agreement, Argentina's commitments to repay the debt have become more
stringent and heavier sacrifices will be necessary, despite the fact
that inflation in the country exceeds 140% and is by far the highest in
all of Latin America, even compared to Venezuela which until now held
the record. Mortgages have risen by 113 euros per month and 2000
families are no longer able to pay and are under eviction.
At the same time, the President announced the suppression of numerous
ministries: that of education (public school education is downgraded and
a final exam instituted for students completing secondary school), that
of health (privileging private healthcare), the ministry of work and
social affairs, culture and the environment (liberalizing the fuel
market), while the economy, interior infrastructure, justice, security,
foreign defense and human capital remain active. On the other hand, the
President makes no secret of his contempt for culture, he doesn't care
about the weak and the sick, let them take care of themselves as best
they can, and let the environment be exploited as much as possible is
more than fine with him. Finally, the law regulating the National
Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) is repealed.
The middle class and the most disadvantaged sections of the population
will pay for the recovery of the country, proof of which is that the
markets like the President and the Buenos Aires stock exchange has
almost doubled its value, because the bosses believe that the profits of
the companies are and they will be safe. The intent to cut funding to
the Provinces effectively means shifting the deficit from the State to
the periphery, so the government's measures are starting to show their
inconsistency.

The destructuring of the state

In his inauguration speech on 10 December, the President declared that
he wanted to stipulate a "new social contract" in the country starting
from the fact that the situation is so serious as to require a shock: it
is necessary to immediately recover 5 points of GDP and to do so he
intends to act on the cost of the state apparatus, avoiding burdening the
private sector. "We know that in the short term the situation will
worsen - warns Milei - but then we will see the fruits" and declared
that the recovery "will have a negative impact on the level of activity,
employment, real wages and the number of poor and destitute people";
"There will be a stagflation where stagnation and inflation occur at the
same time and will be necessary.... supreme efforts and painful
sacrifices" and promised that he will proceed with cuts in state social
spending, economic deregulation, tax changes and privatizations. These
choices are necessary because the situation is disastrous - concluded
the President - who, however, was careful not to propose
thedollarisation of the economy, his strong point during electoral
propaganda. According to official data, Argentina has more than 40%
poverty and an inflation of 140%, the price index reached 211.4% on an
annual basis in December, after recording a monthly increase of 25%, 5%,
but "what needs to be avoided is poverty above 90%", declared the
President. Aware of the fact that his program will cover the poor and
the workers, Milei allowed a harsh crackdown against the "piqueteros",
protest groups who usually block roads or streets to make demands,
stating that "those who block the roads, violating the rights of their
fellow citizens, will not receive assistance from society" threatening
those who protest to deprive them of social rights.

After that, the president turned his attention to foreign policy and
hastened to disavow the previous government by withdrawing Argentina's
membership of the Brics, bringing it back to the dollar area, contacting
the Ukrainian government to show its support and organize a summit in
Latin America in favor of the country at war.

 From words to deeds

Milei has launched his flagship measures; the Decree of Necessity and
Urgency (DNU) and the "omnibus" law (664 articles) sent to Congress on
December 20; The decree opens with the declaration of "public emergency
in economic, financial, fiscal, administrative, social security, health
and social matters until 31 December 2025".
With article 2, the State "will promote and ensure the effective
validity throughout the national territory of an economic system based
on free decisions, adopted in a context of free competition, with
respect for private property and the constitutional principles of free
movement of goods, services and work". To this end, through the DNU we
will proceed with a "broad deregulation of trade, services and
industry", repealing "all restrictions on the supply of goods and
services" and any law "that distorts market prices, prevents free
private initiative or avoids the
spontaneous interaction of supply and demand".
The path for the privatization of public companies is traced by
repealing the legislation that prevented their sale. The legal figure of
the "state company" and all those that are not entirely public capital,
according to the definition of the 1974 law, disappears. The government
will transform "every public company into a joint-stock company, for its
subsequent privatisation", tracing a a path that should lead to the
disposal of public shares in historic companies such as Aerolineas
argentinas or the energy company Ypf . All this because it is believed
that Argentina's aviation policy has severely limited the development of
the commercial airline industry, a pillar not only of the country's
integration but also of economic development and tourism. A complete
reorganization of the sector is therefore "imperative"
to create the conditions of flexibility needed to guarantee connections
between all the cities. The decree quantifies the debt contracted
together by YPF and the Central Bank at 25 billion dollars.
In order to promote foreign investments, the Government repeals the
agricultural law which prevented the transfer to foreigners of portions
of land exceeding a certain quota, putting the country up for sale. The
Rental Law is repealed "so that the real estate market can function
without problems again and so that renting is not an odyssey". The law is
considered "nefarious", because it would generate inconveniences: the
excess of regulatory regulation in private contracts, especially in
those for renting apartments, would be responsible "for serious
consequences for both tenants and landlords", with the "potential
destruction of the market real estate". In "consistency with all this",
the possibility for the parties to establish with which currency to
carry out the transaction is restored. In the change made in October to
the law in force since 2020 and held responsible for a decline in
supply, the use of the US dollar was in fact denied, a currency whose
use the previous government tried in every way to restrict. Putting an
end to the law, trade associations warn, could lead to a series of
effects: the minimum term of a contract returns to two years, the rental
price can be indexed on any parameter, from inflation to the value of
the dollar or to the of diesel. Furthermore, among other consequences,
home repairs will be borne by the tenants, as will any ordinary and
extraordinary condominium expenses.
The government then announces the cancellation of a series of laws
because they "distort" the free formation of prices and hinder "private
initiative". The Supply Law (Ley de abastecimiento) and the Shelf Law
(Ley de gondolas) are repealed. The first, which came into force at the
beginning of the pandemic, authorized the State to activate incentives
and sanctions to guarantee affordable prices and availability of basic
products and services. For Milei it is necessary to ensure that the
State "no longer attacks the property rights of individuals". By
repealing the second law, the State is deprived of the "possibility of
interfering in the decisions of Argentine traders": in fact, it is the
rule that prevents traders from presenting a quota greater than 30
percent of products of a single brand on the same shelf. Large sections
of the law on national purchases (Compre nacional and Compre argentino)
are dropped, which guaranteed protection to local products, but which
according to Milei "only benefited certain political actors". The
government suppresses the price observatory established at the Ministry
of Economy, to avoid "persecution of companies". The labor market is
totally destructured and liberalized: in the government's intentions its
functioning would be "modernized by facilitating the creation process of
work".
Currently, the government reports that employment in the private sector
is at a standstill at six million citizens, but undeclared work is so
large that it exceeds that legally regulated by 33%. for this reason
"real wages are at an unusually low level", which means poverty for 45%
of the population, and indigence, 10%. For
to favor employers, the DNU provides for a reduction in compensation for
dismissal, with the abolition of bonuses of various kinds guaranteed up
to now. Compensation resulting from labor disputes in the event of
dismissal and the revaluation due in the event of late payment are also
reduced. As a single measure in favor of workers, the creation of a fund
is envisaged to cover the severance pay, in the case of dismissal
without just cause, paid monthly by the employer, as happens in many
European countries.
Restrictions concern trade union rights: trade unions retain the right
to convene and hold meetings and congresses, "without jeopardizing the
normal activities of the company or harming third parties". The
"blocking or occupation of a factory, preventing or totally or partially
obstructing the entry and exit of people" from the workplace,
as well as causing "damage to property and people of the company" is
punished.

The DNU was published in the Official Journal, and as a decree of
necessity and urgency it took on immediate validity and as an immediate
response the Argentines took to the streets in Buenos Aires and in all
the cities of the country with massive and participatory demonstrations.
To definitively enter into force, the text must first be examined by a
bilateral parliamentary select commission which has the task of
evaluating the requirements of necessity and urgency.
Subsequently, the decree will be examined in a plenary session by the
Chamber and the Senate, which can reject or accept it but not amend or
modify it. It will only come into force if it has proven by absolute
majority.
The decree could be stopped by the Supreme Court of Justice if the
extremes of "exceptionality" envisaged by the Constitutional Charter are
not recognized and many appeals to this effect have already been
presented and some measures have already been suspended.

The omnibus decree

Furthermore, the so-called omnibus decree, or the "Law of foundations
and starting points for the freedom of Argentines", was sent to
Congress. This legislative project is the most profound as it contains
"two thirds" of all the reform proposals. The provision declares "the
public emergency in economic, financial, fiscal, pension, security,
defence, tariff, energy, health, administrative and social matters until
31 December 2025", a period which "may be extended by National executive
for a maximum of two years". If this law were approved, Milei would have
the power to decide on all those issues on which today only Parliament
can legislate during its four years of government and would have both
executive and legislative power in his hands.
The measure gives him powers over issues such as finance, the economy
and energy that were previously in the hands of Congress and focuses on
areas that, according to the Constitution, can only be modified by
Congress. "The text provides for profound reforms, necessary and urgent
in fiscal, labour, criminal, energy and electoral matters", amending
twenty laws. A chapter dedicated to state reform declares all public
sector companies "subject to privatization". These include around 40
state companies, including the YPF oil company, Aerolíneas Argentinas,
Banco Nación, Casa de Moneda (where the banknotes), the Télam news
agency, the water company AYSA and Ferrocarriles Argentinos. The chapter
on electoral reform provides for the elimination of Open, Simultaneous
and Mandatory Primaries, better known as PASO, which have been a source
of controversy since their creation in 2009. It is proposed to change
the composition of the Chamber of Deputies, moving from the current
system , which determines the number of representatives proportionally
to the population, to a system of single-member constituencies, which
implies the division of the country into 254 constituencies with one
deputy each. Although the government claims that this would put an end
to the so-called "covered lists", in which the population votes for many
representatives it does not know, critics point out that this formula,
used by Anglo-Saxon countries, favors large political forces, taking
away representation from those smaller.
New limits are set on demonstrations, with penalties of up to four
years' imprisonment for those who use weapons to disrupt public
transport services or up to five years for those who "direct, organize
or coordinate a meeting or demonstration that prevents, hinders or
obstructs circulation or public or private transport". The penalty will
be even higher if people are forced to take part in a protest by
threatening to take away their social assistance.
On the other hand, sanctions are eliminated for those who use weapons
"in the fulfillment of a duty or in the legitimate exercise of their
right, authority or position". Currently the penal code allows the use
of weapons only by security forces. or when other people's lives are at
risk." Now the police have a free hand!
The "omnibus law" also proposes asset laundering up to $100,000, tax
benefits for those who declare assets or cash less than that amount;
provides for leaving the increase in pensions, which today are regulated
by law, in the hands of the executive, through presidential decrees.
Javier Milei's new package includes limitations on the right to protest.
Although some proposals - in particular the elimination of PASO - have
the support of various political forces, it is likely that many of the
664 articles of the "omnibus law" will end up not being approved. "Milei
sent his idea of a perfect Argentina, but he didn't take much into
account the political feasibility," said LN+ channel analyst
Pablo Fernández Blanco. Milei does not have a majority in Congress, so
the feasibility of his proposals is not guaranteed. He must have the
full support of the centre-right coalition "Together for Change", which
was on the verge of fracture due to differences over the alliance with
Milei but now seems willing to support him.
While Congress discusses the "omnibus law" in extraordinary sessions
called until January 31st, we will have to wait for the ordinary
sessions, starting from March, a first general strike has been called
for January 24th.

The role of Vice President Victoria Vilarruel

His deputy is in charge of covering the president's policy from a
security point of view and ensuring him the support of the far right.
She stood out for having promised that in the event of victory she would
review the current policy of memory, truth and of the country's human
rights which compensated thousands of victims of the repression which
occurred during the last military dictatorship (1976 -1983) which wanted
the DNU decree to provide for the repeal of the law on human rights.
Villarruel claims with his action that he wants to defend "complete
memory", which means taking into account that there was a war that saw
the military and security forces on one side and the left-wing
guerrillas on the other, who she defines as "terrorists". Daughter and
granddaughter of soldiers, Vicky, as her followers call her, created her
own NGO in 2006 to help the 1,094 victims of left-wing armed groups in
the 1970s who "were never recognized by the state.
Therefore, after having had the law on human rights repealed, you were
entrusted with the delegation for the sectors of Defence, Security and
Intelligence and maintain relations with the circles of the former coup
plotters.

GC

https://www.ucadi.org/2024/01/23/largentina-nelle-spire-di-milei/
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