Half a year after Miley entered the Casa Rosada, his flagship project, the Bases Law, was finally approved by the Senate. Vice President Victoria Villarruel was in charge of breaking the tie and getting us out of the morass of 36 votes in favor and 36 against. The document with which Miley intends to dismantle the State and build it anew arrives completely mutilated to the House of Deputies (the lower house), where it undergoes yet another long process.
The Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Independence of Argentina, popularly known as Aadhaar law It is a document of 664 articles that calls for a “reform of the State” and includes very diverse articles that range from the economic emergency and the administrative reorganization of the State, to issues related to security, defense, public health or justice or privatization, among many other things.
Very little remains of that first draft of more than 600 points (and annexes). Once the document was voted on in the Chambers, Miley did not have a sufficient majority to approve it, accepting a total of 45 amendments: 29 to the Base Law and 16 to the fiscal package proposed by the opposition.
The session in the Senate was intense and lasted more than 13 hours until the general vote was taken and then the individual debates continued. The day was very tense, as social protests against the law took place in the Plaza del Congreso, which ended with heavy police pressure and numerous injuries and arrests.
The issue of privatization of companies and dismantling of public entities, a mantra that the president carried throughout the campaign waving a chainsaw, has completely diminished. Miley had his eye on more than 30 public companies that he wanted to leave in the hands of private capital. Just two days after being re-elected, he had already told off public radio and television, the Telam news agency or Aerolineas Argentinas. Well, in this latest Senate debate the number of companies to be privatized has been reduced to eight and, precisely, public radio and television, the airline and Correos Argentinos have been left out.
With regard to public organizations, Miley acknowledged that those connected with science or culture could not be dissolved.
Of course, the first article, which declares an economic, financial, administrative and energy emergency in Argentina, which empowers the executive to exercise special powers in these mattersthis final voting process resulted in no amendments. But for the first time as a deputy he was reduced from 11 emergencies to only four.
The executive also had to yield to a pension reform which, among other things, abolished the bar that allowed those (mainly women) who had not made contributions to receive pensions. full quotation established by law. At the same time, he had to give up and restart public works that were already very advanced or that were financed with private capital. It should be remembered that Miley suspended all public works projects upon his arrival at Casa Rosad. “There is no money,” said government spokesman Miguel Andorini at the time.
Investment Incentives
One of the points the executive was most interested in approving was the Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI). A package of measures that seeks to attract foreign investment to develop local economies. Miley received the support of three senators from the Unión por la Patria (Kirchnerists), who distanced themselves from voting discipline.
After the vote, the Senate discussed the second pillar of the Miley state restructuring project: the fiscal package. It consists of the restoration of the income tax (income), anti-money laundering and various reforms of the tax system. Let us remember that Miley began his mandate by increasing taxes.
victory for the government
In a statement issued by the Presidency’s office, published on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the Miley government celebrated the approval of its star document in the Senate “with terrorist groups attacking Congress.” The presidency described the vote as “a victory for the Argentine people and a first step towards the recovery of our greatness.”
The government described this law as the “most ambitious” legislative reform of the last forty years. They claim that with this approval in Sendao they hope to “leave behind the policies of failure and misery and put the Argentine Republic back on the path of prosperity and development.”
At the moment, macroeconomic results are going well for Miles. Although inflation, the country’s big problem, remains one of the highest in the world, monthly data for April was in single digits (8.8%), leaving the inter-annual CPI at 289.4%. Also, the country accumulated a fiscal surplus equivalent to 0.2% of GDP in the first quarter of the year, the first time this has happened since 2008. Exports also recorded very good data month on year, thanks in part to a good harvest.
But socially things are not going so well. Miley decided to sacrifice Argentina’s purchasing power by eliminating subsidies for energy and transport. This which led to a decline in domestic demandas a lack of purchasing power reduced domestic demand. He also abolished the ultra-low VAT on basic products. This has led to skyrocketing poverty rates. The latest data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) gave this information. The country’s poverty rate is 51.8% in the first quarter of the year.
This jump in poverty levels was due to the devaluation of the currency in the early days of the government and a 56% increase in prices in the basic basket between January and March, not a corresponding increase in incomes.
All international organizations predict that the River Plate country will suffer a severe recession this year, with GDP falling by around 3% and rising to 2.7% in 2025.
The document will have to go back to the Chamber of Deputies where it will be debated again and the government hopes for a favourable outcome.