The Chamber of Deputies of Argentina approved this Friday, February 2, President Javier Milei's flagship project, known as the 'Omnibus Law'. After receiving the endorsement of the deputies, with 144 votes in favor and 109 against, the initiative will be debated article by article, next week, in order to advance to the Senate. The controversial law generated numerous protests in the country and was even the focus of the first strike of the far-right politician's Government.
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The Chamber of Deputies of Argentina granted general approval to the extensive reform project popularly known as the 'Omnibus Law', promoted by President Javier Milei. The controversial package, which has been in negotiation for several days, obtained 144 votes in favor and 109 against.
The so-called Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines ('Omnibus Law'), with which the Government of Javier Milei seeks to deregulate the economy and undertake structural reforms to minimize the presence of the State and which originally had more of 600 articles, advanced in the Legislative but reduced by the ruling party itself at 386 points.
The project, popularly called 'Omnibus Law' because of its broad scope, proposes to revolutionize the Argentine economic system with the change of hundreds of laws and regulations and is complemented by a decree of 366 articles with more deregulations, some of whose effects have already been partially suspended by Justice and what Congress must consider.
The legislative process will now move to detailed scrutiny, with MPs set to vote on each article individually from February 6. This general approval paves the way for the project to advance to the Upper House.
President Milei's ambitious reform seeks to address Argentina's economic challenges, marked by inflation exceeding 200%, depleted foreign exchange reserves and imminent debt payments.
Even though Milei's party, the far-right Libertad Avanza, has a limited number of seats in the 257-seat chamber, it garnered enough support from like-minded allies to move forward with the project.
The final vote followed an extensive three-day session. Deliberations were marked by last-minute proposed changesnegotiated after congressional committees endorsed the final draft on January 24, causing confusion over its content.
Milei's allies facilitated approval
The coalition that supports Milei, which includes the conservatives PRO, UCR, Hacemos Coalificación Federal and Innovación Federal, facilitated the approval of the project, despite the fact that Libertad Avanza has only 38 deputies, far from the 129 necessary to obtain the majority in the Lower House. The UCR (center-right) reiterated its support for the project, despite expressing partial disagreement with its content throughout the debate.
The Peronist opposition alliance Unión por la Patria and the Left and Workers' Front voted against the project, expressing concerns about its impact on poverty and pensions.
Before the final vote, several articles were removed from the project, leaving less than half of the original 664 articles. Finance Minister Luis Caputo had previously announced the elimination of the entire fiscal chapter at the end of January. However, the project maintains proposals for the complete or partial privatization of more than a dozen state companies.
The last of these adjustments was introduced by the Government last Friday, January 26, when the controversial fiscal chapter of the 'Omnibus Law' was withdrawn. Therefore, now, in the latest version of the project and with which the negotiating teams are working, Milei's reform plans are reduced to 386 articles.
In addition, the project deregulates significant sectors of the Argentine economy and declares a public emergency in economic, financial, security, tariff, energy and administrative matters until December 31. He also delegates legislative power to President Milei on these issues during the same period.
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