2023-12-28 11:19:41
Argentine President Javier Milei sent Congress a package of laws that establishes a new economic matrix in which the free market is the rule and State intervention is limited to the exception. There are 664 articles that, combined with the 366 in last week’s decree, define the more than a thousand changes that the new government wants for its intended “liberal revolution”.
Márcio Resende, RFI correspondent in Buenos Aires
The measures aim to attract investments, reduce the size and bureaucracy of the State and give the Executive powers over matters that would require approval from the Legislature. Some measures toughen penalties under the premise of law and order.
The new package is still being interpreted by Argentines, but it can already be said that it is a new economic and social paradigm, with the air of a refounding of the country, of a now liberal country. This idea of refounding appears right in the title of the package: “Law of bases and starting points for the freedom of Argentines”.
And right in the introduction, the text says that “the objective is to promote private initiative through a legal regime that guarantees freedom and limits State intervention”. The package will have to pass through a Congress where the government supporters are an absolute minority.
The government requests Congress to grant legislative powers in various areas under the argument of public emergency in economic, financial, fiscal, social, social security, tariff, energy, health, security and defense matters.
This ‘carte blanche’ would be for two years, extendable for another two. In other words: until the end of Javier Milei’s term. The president would have superpowers to decide on these matters without going through Parliament. This aspect is already a reason for criticism and should suffer strong resistance from legislators who have until January 31st to deal with the measures.
In addition to these 664 articles, the government is also asking Congress to approve last week’s mega-decree with 366 articles that reform the State, make the labor market more flexible and deregulate the economy.
Educational system: Brazilian students may be affected
Brazil appears as an inspiration for the application of a type of Enem, but what should affect Brazilians most is the possibility of charging for university education, which is currently free.
In Argentina, there are more than 10 thousand Brazilian university students. The majority are in Buenos Aires and study Medicine at a free, public university. If Milei’s package is approved, universities will be able to charge all foreigners who do not have residency.
In other words: Brazilians who are attracted by the quality of education, the free tuition and the absence of university entrance exams in Argentina may be charged.
But the text also opens a loophole: it says that the university will be able to implement a scholarship system financed by agreements with other countries or foreign private institutions.
Electoral system
This reform is one of the most profound. The elections in Argentina could become more similar to the Brazilian ones. First, because it ends open and mandatory primary elections, something unusual in the world. Secondly, because Argentines can start voting on a single ballot. Currently, each candidate prints their own, something also unusual in the world. Third, Argentines will be able to vote directly for the candidate for legislator they prefer, as in Brazil. Currently, they are forced to choose a list already defined by the party. Fourth, the composition of the Chamber of Deputies may change.
The argument for this change is the representation of each jurisdiction proportional to the population, but the change would benefit Javier Milei who could be able to significantly increase the number of deputies within two years, when there is a partial renewal of the Chamber.
Currently, government supporters represent only 15% of the Chamber of Deputies and 10% of the Senate. Therefore, Milei’s bet is bold: she aims to carry out a liberal revolution without having a parliamentary majority.
Legalized tax evasion
The government wants to promote the legalization of undeclared capital and assets. Central Bank calculations indicate that Argentines have more than US$300 billion outside the system, most of it abroad.
Anyone who brings into the country or declares the equivalent of up to US$100,000 is exempt from paying any tax and does not need to justify anything. Above that, there will be a tribute, but a low one.
The businessman who legalizes employees who currently work without a formal contract will have infractions, fines and sanctions pardoned.
President Javier Milei wants carte blanche to sell 41 state-owned companies, including public TV, the state news agency and even the Mint.
Currently, for a president to negotiate a credit with a multilateral organization, he needs the approval of Congress. Milei wants freedom to contract debt without going through Parliament. This means that the government wants to negotiate a new loan with the IMF.
No bureaucracy
Couples who want to divorce by mutual agreement will have an “express divorce” without the need for a lawyer.
No more franchises for those bringing purchases from abroad. There is no longer a limit on tariff-free purchases for those who bring purchases in their suitcase.
The resale of tickets for sporting events will be legalized, as it is today in the United States, for example. A person will be able to buy a ticket and resell it at a higher price and without limit through some platform. In other words: the exchanger is legalized.
Hard line
One of the most controversial chapters is the one that refers to changes in the penal code, aimed at law and order.
The government wants to combat violence by increasing penalties against criminals, taking the side of citizens who defend themselves and protecting police officers. At the same time, it reinforces the anti-blockade protocol, which prohibits the blocking of avenues and roads as a form of protest.
The new project expands the interpretation of the right to defense of a victim of a crime. In the case of a police officer, an agent also gains more scope for action against criminals. Resistance to authority and assault on a police officer will carry aggravated prison sentences.
Controls over demonstrations also tighten. Protesters will have to notify the government of a protest. The government, in turn, may deny the request for security reasons and propose changes of place and date. Anyone who blocks a road to protest may be subject to effective arrest. Organizers will be held accountable, even if they are not at the protest.
“Order in the streets has very large popular support (75%) and the president made this flag a campaign motto. There is great discredit for social organizations that have turned poverty into a business through the use of blockades. On average, leaders charge 10% of the value of social plans and require beneficiaries to participate in protests if they do not want to lose their plans”, he describes to RFI analyst Patricio Giusto, one of the greatest experts on the subject.
Since 2009, Patricio Giusto’s consultancy, Diagnóstico Político, has been a reference when it comes to measuring social conflict.
Every year, there are more than 6,000 blockades of avenues and roads across the country, the majority in the city of Buenos Aires. In 2022, there were a record 8,861 lockdowns. As of November 2023, there have been 7,769 blockades, with August being the month with the most protests using this modality: 882. In November, there were 568 blockades across the country, 50 of which were in the city of Buenos Aires. There are almost two blockages per day on the main roads in the Argentine capital.
This Wednesday, the General Confederation of Labor led a protest against a decree by Javier Milei. They asked for authorization and paid for damage insurance. More than 20 thousand people protested in an orderly manner. At the end of the demonstration, seven people were arrested for trying to block an avenue. Store owners who suffered losses due to not selling will be able to claim insurance.
Anti-blocking vs. anti-demonstration
The ‘anti-blockade protocol’ does not prohibit demonstrations, guaranteed by the Constitution, but it prohibits blocking streets. This means that protesters must walk along the sidewalk to a square or public space, without interrupting vehicular traffic. The right to demonstrate must not, at any time, affect the right to movement.
“By claiming the right to movement, what this protocol intends is to reverse a fundamental right such as the right to protest. What is behind this argument is the criminalization of protest”, he interprets RFI Victoria Darraidou, coordinator of the Institutional Security and Violence Policy Team at the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS).
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