Setback for Milei: Argentina Ruling Party’s ‘Own Goal’ Torpedoes Omnibus Law

By Misión Verdad – Feb 8, 2024

The ultra-neoliberal party led by President Javier Milei, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), had to backtrack by withdrawing the entire Omnibus bill from the Argentinian Congress.

The lack of consensus on crucial aspects, such as authorizing the president to make decisions in economic, financial, security, energy tariffs and administrative areas without the need to go through Congress, has been a determining factor in this situation for Milei, whose ambitions to implement structural reforms have been frustrated.

The vote on the specific articles on Tuesday, February 6, represented a setback for the ruling bloc, which had celebrated the general approval of the bill the previous week. During the 12 votes held on the specific articles of the bill, LLA suffered six defeats.

Just before the vote on the privatization issue, in view of the imminent rejection, the ruling party requested that the law be returned to commissions, which implies restarting the process from scratch.

The bill was intended to mark a strong neoliberal turn based on the limiting the state’s role. The mega-decree contemplated the repeal of 366 laws which, if approved, would have granted broad powers to Milei by establishing a “state of public emergency.” This exceptional measure could be extended until December 31, 2025, with the possibility of being extended for two more years, which would have covered Milei’s entire presidential term and would have granted him legislative powers.

The Argentinian president’s three-day trip to the Zionist State of “Israel” was marred by this news. During his stay, after announcing the intention of moving Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, Milei came to know about the withdrawal of the bill and reacted by declaring war on the opposition on social media.

AQUÍ LA LISTA DE LOS LEALES Y LOS TRAIDORES QUE USARON EL DISCURSO DEL CAMBIO PARA PODER RAPIÑAR UNA BANCA…
PASEN Y VEAN A LOS ENEMIGOS DE UNA MEJOR ARGENTINA… https://t.co/OMHwQwEm5a
— Javier Milei (@JMilei) February 7, 2024

He claimed that the failure was caused by the political “caste” that opposed the change, and branded the Congresspersons who voted against the bill as “criminals who are ruining the country.” Earlier, the Office of the Presidency had published a list with the names of the legislators who voted for and against the neoliberal proposal. Milei commented that it was the list of “loyalists and traitors,” and then recommended a report in which one could “recognize some of the names of the impoverished caste from their faces.”

Argentina: Controversial Omnibus Law Returns to Committee Due to Lack of Consensus (+Public Celebrates)

Between ignorance and pedantry
However, as reported by the Argentinian media, it was the government itself, and the ruling party LLA, that led to the defeat of the law.

In an article on the subject, Anfibia Magazine pointed out the lack of strategy of the ruling bloc in trying to pass the law, and highlighted that basic steps, such as negotiating with possible allies, allowing modifications, or convincing those who could support, were not taken. Instead, the government opted for disregarding the legislative work and pushing the law through “in one go,” without having a clear understanding of the required support.

Página 12 portrayed it in a similar way:

The negotiations had not come to a good end, the government was deaf to the demands, and it was not until the friendly opposition scrapped the first five articles that the alarm bells began to ring. Finally, the chapter on privatizations arrived, the necessary numbers were not there, and LLA decided that it would rather throw away all the last month’s parliamentary work than end the day with a half victory.

In any case, the return of the Omnibus Law to the Congressional commission reveals two possible scenarios, which could be oscillating between:

The ignorance of the legislative process contained in the Internal Regulations of the Congress: this was evidenced in the first statements issued by the Minister of the Interior Guillermo Francos, and by the head of the La Libertad Avanza bloc in Congress, Oscar Zago, both of whom suggested that since the law had been approved in general, returning it to commissions did not imply starting the process again, which was a clear sign of ignorance of Article 155 of the regulations.
The strong contempt for the parliamentary exercise that implies negotiating with those who would be willing to support the bill: this was evident in the apathy to build bridges with some sectors of the opposition and especially with the governors, whom the ruling bloc was not able to convince, evidencing the lack of negotiators in La Libertad Avanza.

This point is not so obvious, because the media has built an image that Javier Milei is incredibly popular and a strong leader. However, reality is disproving that image every day. Both the results of the first presidential round and the conformation of the Congress show that in order to be able to govern, President Milei will have to establish a negotiation strategy that will allow him to build majorities in order to carry out his political project. After the “own goal” of the Omnibus Law, Milei’s project may be impossible for him to accomplish.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/DZ