Argentina lawmakers debate Milei’s ‘omnibus’ economic reform bill
Al Jazeera
Opposition has pledged to block the president’s mega-bill to reform the economy, politics and even some aspects of private life.
Argentina’s lower house of Congress has begun what is expected to be a marathon debate on libertarian President Javier Milei’s mega-bill to reform the economy, politics and even some aspects of private life.
The government raced to secure votes for the key “omnibus” reform bill on Wednesday, even as the left-leaning opposition pledged to block it.
The bill initially contained 664 articles, but has lost almost half of these in tough negotiations with the opposition, which largely outnumbers Milei’s Libertad Avanza party that has just 38 of the 257 seats in the lower house of Congress.
The bill is one the main planks in Milei’s reform push to tackle the South American country’s worst economic crisis in decades, with inflation over 200 percent and state coffers running dry.
It marks the president’s first major test since the self-described “anarchocapitalist” took office in December after a shock election win in which he campaigned with a chainsaw pledging to slash spending and the size of the state.
