2024-01-07 10:13:10
Everything has been so dizzying for the Argentines that the coming to power of far-right Javier Miley It seems to have taken place a long time ago. His presidency began, however, on December 10 with a speech with his back to Congress that, at this point, takes on another meaning. More than a rejection of the traditional political leadership, from which it partly draws to govern, mercy He has made known his dream of fundamentally changing the economic and social structure of the country without institutional counterweights.
They are Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) It grants it powers above the role of Parliament, among other instruments. The DNU has had two partial setbacks in the courts and should pass the filter of a bicameral commission of the legislature.
There are two ways that can sink it completely. A judicial one: that a court suspend all its articles or declare their unconstitutionality. The other scenario is Congress, where an Executive decree has never been rejected before. The president, for now, threatened to call a referendum to give legitimacy to his radical measures, while the ghost of the former Peruvian autocrat stirs around him, Alberto Fujimoriwho on April 5, 1992 dissolved Congress with the support of the Armed Forces to advance his reform plan and deregulation of the economy.
That distant December 10, Milei recognized that the first months of his administration They would be hard but necessary to find a beam of light at the end of the tunnel. There was no other alternative to leaving behind a century of “collectivism”. The temporary price to pay would be a rampant inflation30% monthly, and a higher poverty, which before reaching the Executive was 45%. All those who oppose the DNU and its shock plan are “nostalgic communists.” Under these warnings, the Minister of Economy, Luis ‘Toto’ Caputodevalued the National currency. Days ago, Milei offered greater details regarding the moment in which the fruits of her package would be seen: “I have one good news: the improvement will be seen in 15 years”. The imagination of anarchocapitalist It is leafy and allows him to project unfounded calculations in public. In 45 years, he also assured, the GDP will multiply 10 times and Argentina It does not deviate from the path set.
The battle of the DNU
The mother of his victory would be the DNU of December 20 and its 366 articles that are proposed privatize state assetsrelease the labor Relationsto the point of putting a limit on right to strike, the maternity leave and the compensationchange the rules of the domestic and foreign tradethe use of airspace, the few rules of environmental Protectionhealth policy, tourism, mining, the automotive regime and even sport, by enabling the purchase of clubs and the resale of show tickets. The Government also aspires to repeal the land law and generates the conditions so that Starlinkthe company of Elon Musk, a sympathizer of Milei’s ideas, compete in the internet business. Never before had the name of a magnate been invoked in the basis of a decree.
The call omnibus law, later sent to Parliament, goes in the same transformative direction. It assigns to the Executive a power greater than that contemplated by the Magna Carta to nip in the bud the traditional functioning of economic, financial, fiscal activity, the state pension system and the cultural activitywhich considers in fact a useless hobby by proposing the elimination of National Theater Institutehe National Endowment of the Arts. At the same time, he tries to limit the unrest in the streets. It can be punished with a prison sentence, which can reach up to six years, if a union or social action affects free movement or public services.
Foreseeable obstacles
The extreme right finds obstacles in the courts, which it promises to correct, as well as among deputies and senators. The “necessity” and “urgency” of the measures is vital for the Government because it may clash sooner rather than later with the social patience. Despite the new safety regulationsno president before Milei heard the noise of so many protests and mobilizations in his first month, with the addition that the labor movement has scheduled its first general strike for January 24.
Some pollsters report that the popularity of the presidential figure is falling precipitously. Others estimate that a large part of the population, overwhelmed by the results of the last Peronist administration, which concluded with inflation of 140% annually, are still willing to be part of the Milei experiment. The Central of Argentine Workers (CTA) assures that in one month the 15% of purchasing power. The minimum wage is 26.7% below December 2019 and 43.5% compared to the same month in 2015. The electoral victory of the extreme right was born from this deep-rooted frustration.
The military question
One of the great political developments of this month about to end has to do with the military issue, which since the 90s has been irrelevant. According to the portal ‘La Política Online’, there are “restlessness” in the Army for the retirement of 23 generals and “fear” in the Navy due to the opening of the Argentine sea to foreign ships. The appointment to the head of the general’s land corps Alberto Presti has attracted the attention of human rights organizations. He is the son of the late colonel, Roque Prestiwho had an active participation in the repressive events of the 60s. Lawyer Pablo Llonto remarked that, although “a son does not necessarily have to answer for what the father did,” it is a “worrying” fact.
In this context, wives, sisters and mothers of former uniformed men who have been convicted of crimes against humanity They have demanded Milei and her vice president, Victoria Villarruel, to fulfill “the promises made” to the “relatives of the victims of the judicial terrorism” to get them out of prison or end their house arrest. Villarruel, daughter of a colonel who participated in the counterinsurgency fight in the 60s and the Malvinas Warwas one of the voices that, before assuming his duties, publicly requested the same thing.
The vice president was going to have a decisive role in the area of Defense and Security but was relegated to bureaucratic functions in the Senate. She has begun meeting privately with the former president Mauricio Macri, who was vital for Milei’s electoral victory but was later left out of the Government’s major political decisions. He would unite them in annoyance with the leader of the extreme right and the desire to govern in absolute solitude.
Rodolfo Barraa former minister of Carlos Menem (1989-99) of confessed Nazi past in youth and current chief state attorney, has justified Milei’s propensity to assert the weight of his authority both in the execution of the laws and his exclusive role in the design of the navigation route. “Our president is a figure analogous to the king“Barra said.
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