The megadecree imposed by the far-right Javier Milei to dismantle the Argentine State has received a first blow from Justice this Wednesday. The Labor Chamber has annulled a part of the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) that the Argentine president signed on December 20. The precautionary measure was issued after the General Workers' Union (CGT), the main labor union in the country, presented an injunction. The appeal presented by the unions, mostly Peronist, joins others from different sectors of society who consider that the DNU is “unconstitutional”, a criticism that constitutional lawyers see as justified.
The judicial document, to which EL PAÍS has had access, presents as a central argument for suspending a part of the megadecree that neither the need nor the urgency for the Executive to bypass Parliament is proven. The DNU are an exceptional constitutional mechanism regulated since 1994 that, in a scenario of natural or social catastrophe, allows the Executive to dictate or modify laws to address an urgent matter that cannot wait for debate in Congress. But among constitutional lawyers there is consensus that this is not the case of the decree signed by Milei and this has been the majority opinion expressed in the judicial document, which has the signatures of judges José Alejandro Sudera, Andrea García Vior and Dora González.
“It is not explained how the proposed reforms, if applied immediately and outside the normal process of enacting laws, could remedy the situation regarding the generation of formal employment,” the document reads. The Chamber of Labor has thus suspended Title IV of the megadecree. In this section, the measure proposes the deregulation of the Argentine labor market, which maintains very beneficial rules for white-collar workers. The decree limits the right to strike, eliminates sanctions for irregular contracts, authorizes working hours of up to 12 hours a day, increases the trial period and enables changes in compensation, among other measures.
The CGT has welcomed the court's decision. In a statement he expressed: “They will not defeat us as long as we remain united.” The unions rejected the mega-decree on December 28 in a massive rally that brought together more than 20,000 people, according to the organizers' estimate. While this was happening, the Milei Government announced the sending to Congress of a law with more than 600 articles on topics that had not been able to be included in the DNU and that fundamentally change a good part of the political, social and economic structure of Argentina. The omnibus law, so called because of its extension and variety of issues, was considered by the union leadership “exponentially worse” than the megadecree and forced the CGT to announce a general strike for next January 24.
The reform of the Argentine State that the far-right seeks to become effective last Friday. That day, the megadecree came into force eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette. The measure repeals norms without parliamentary discussion, eliminates state regulations, enables the privatization of public companies, opens the door to operations in dollars and kicks off to make the health system more flexible, among a hundred other measures. The first blow was received this Thursday, from the Justice, where there are still thirty protections that question its constitutionality.
Another obstacle that the DNU must overcome is in Congress, where it has to be approved. A bicameral commission of eight senators and eight deputies will also analyze in Congress whether the “need” and “urgency” of the measure are justified. The commission still functions during the summer recess of Congress. If the decree is endorsed by the bicameral commission, it will be submitted to the plenary session of each chamber, which must accept or reject the rule in its entirety by the vote of the absolute majority of the members. With the approval of only one of the chambers – or if it is not discussed – the decree will be considered valid. The negative vote of both, on the other hand, would reject it.
Milei's party, La Libertad Avanza, does not have majorities in Congress – it has only 38 of 257 deputies and seven of 72 senators – but it has the support of some legislators, such as those who report to former conservative president Mauricio Macri. Other sectors show more ambiguity, such as the Radical Civic Union, which assures that the country “needs a change,” but it must be done “respecting established forms.” On the other hand, Peronism, now in opposition, expressed a total rejection of the text and so did the left. The debate in the plenary sessions must wait, however, until March 1, when the ordinary sessions begin.
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