Miguel Ángel Pichetto feels that he twisted the arm of the government of Javier Miley and that won the fight in the tense discussion over the fine print of the labor reform that was incorporated in the package of the new “base law.” The thing is that, finally, the Executive backed down in its attempt to include a profound transformation of the legislation and agreed with the representatives of the allied blocs on a more limited version. -more than 40 articles were removed from the draft- which does not contemplate either the elimination of the solidarity quota or ultra-activity, two modifications that had irritated the heads of the CGT, because they implied a direct threat to the resources and representation capacity of the unions.
Pichetto lived days of fury, but the unexpected turn of the ruling party made him regain his spirits. “The Government backed down; “This is a reasonable position.” They celebrate near the president of the We Make Federal Coalition in Deputies bench, after the negotiations were put back on track thanks to the fact that the emissaries of the libertarians, urged to achieve their first legislative victory, decided to back down and agree on a more limited article.
Despite the pact, the radicals signed their dissent on the issue of union solidarity dues. “That restricts freedom of association, and we are going to defend it on campus,” he anticipated. Karina Banfi (UCR).
Pichetto was outraged last Sunday when he learned that the Government had issued a text of the labor reform that included some 60 articles. Fed up with the Casa Rosada’s amateurism in articulating or Milei’s constant and incendiary diatribes against Congress, the former senator warned that he was not willing to support with his vote the ambitious reform proposed in advance, he argued, by the ruling party a few hours away. that the pact be sealed to sign the opinion. “They threw 60 items at our heads! It is not serious, there are no rules of the game and they do not comply with what was agreed”he bellowed before his close collaborators.
The HCF block head suspects that the intellectual author of the surprise move was Julio Corderoa labor lawyer for the Techint Group, who replaced Omar Yasin at the head of the Ministry of Labor after the scandal over the increase in salaries of senior officials.
Just two weeks ago, Pichetto had negotiated with the Chief of Staff, Nicolas Posseand the Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francosa set of modifications to current regulations aimed at collaborating with the reactivation of the economy, such as the extension of the trial period and the creation of the labor termination fund or the modification of fines for unregistered work.
Attentive to the social thermometer, the fragmentation of the unions and the parliamentary experiences of recent decades, such as the Mucci law or the failed labor reform of Mauricio Macri, Pichetto asked for a project that would be digestible by the CGT leaders, whose leadership is crossed by the internal conflict between the most dialogic sectors and the most combative pole. In fact, he suggested the chance to replicate the spirit of the labor chapter of the DNU 70/2023 that stopped labor justice. That is, refloating the articles that were not objected to by the unions.
Faced with the economic recession due to the fiscal adjustment applied by the President, Pichetto considered that it was necessary to postpone the discussion on the elimination of the mandatory solidarity fee, one of the main sources of financing for unions, or to repeal the ultra-activity of collective agreements. He believes that this debate should take place in depth in the Labor Legislation commission so as not to complicate the sanction of the basic law. In other words: he asked to draft a text whose approval would be viable in this context. He had been a key interlocutor with the union leaders, who were willing to move forward with modernization, as long as they did not attack their revenue. For this reason, he was upset when the Government gave the UCR the lead role to present the labor reform project and Rodrigo De Loredo, head of the radical bloc in Deputies, warned that they would not negotiate the inclusion of the elimination of union dues. A bet to run on the right to Milei.
Pichetto expressed his frustration with the President’s treatment of Congress during the Federal Republican Meeting, his party hallmark, last Tuesday. In front of his allies, the former senator issued a harsh warning to Milei. “Coercive leadership in Argentina is very short. Either build a reasonable leadership of reasonable dialogue with Congress or there will be problems. And when the time comes that the institutions have to defend the Government, there may be problems”he pointed out.
In private, Pichetto sought to lower the tone of his statements. He repeats that he cooperates so that the Government can approve the basic law and the fiscal pact to give greater legal sustainability to its economic reforms, as demanded by the IMF authorities or the investment funds, but he understands that the President must take care of the “form and the background.” In other words, the head of the HCF caucus wants Milei to review his attacks on Congress – his enemy is the “caste” – and engage in a “constructive” dialogue with the deputies and senators. Furthermore, he insists that the President and the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputothey must prepare and send to Congress sooner rather than later the 2025 budget project – this year the one designed by Sergio Massa-. “The DNU of [Federico] Sturzenegger is hanging by a thread, and all we get is aggression?”the former senator rants to his usual interlocutors.
Pichetto did not like that the head of state once again belittled Parliament’s support for the basic law during his participation at the Libertad Foundation dinner or that he agitated the idea that he is betting on the 2025 legislative elections to increase his representation in both. cameras and, thus, not depend on the allied blocks or deal with their conditions. “It is a fantasy about 2025. Yesterday was not a good message. Do you want the law or not? The President’s word is important.”, they lament in Pichetto’s office. His troops are already weaving a strategy to bring together the “rational” sectors of the UCR, Pro and Peronism next year and present an electoral offer that is distinguished from the “fundamentalist” and “authoritarian” visions of both the left and the extreme right.
Those who frequent the former senator notice him restless and disconcerted by the actions of the Government and Milei’s lack of political rationality. Since the libertarian leader arrived at the Casa Rosada, Pichetto repeats that winning at the polls is one thing, governing is another. For this reason, he does not rule out that Milei could suffer shocks if it does not interweave parliamentary agreements to ensure governability, especially after the change in climate that was generated in the halls of Congress by the massive mobilization on Tuesday to demand a larger budget for public universities. . “Collective marches are not neutral. “Milei must address this complex issue,” They suggest near Pichetto. In the dialogue opposition, the idea prevails that, once the basic law and the fiscal package are approved, Congress will take the initiative to set the tone for the Executive with its own projects linked to retirees or university resources.
“We have moved forward with the labor law, ratifying points of the DNU, encouraging job creation and the reduction of labor lawsuits,” Pichetto wrote today on the social network X, in a conciliatory message, after the days of fury with Milei and the agreement that formed the CGT.
