Sebastian Fest Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Updated Wednesday, February 7, 2024-19:59

  • Argentina Milei suffers a hard blow: the 'omnibus law' approved last week returns to the beginning of the process

  • Argentina Milei and the first success of a Government that disconcerts

  • Middle East Milei confirms in Israel its plan to move the Argentine embassy to Jerusalem

The

Wailing Wall

that he visited on Tuesday did not give Javier Milei peace. Hours after the visit to the sacred site, the Argentine president slammed the table and ordered the withdrawal of the

omnibus law

, approved in general last week, but criticized by the opposition after the debate on the articles.

"Last night the caste celebrated," Milei wrote

on

the

social

network

This Wednesday she had a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to which she arrived with just three hours of sleep.

"Today, good Argentines suffer the negative effects of their excesses and passion for living off of others. They are very similar to the beasts who celebrated the

default

in 2001 and 2002," added the president when commenting on a post in which it was highlighted that Financial markets punish Argentina.

Already this Wednesday morning, before a group of Israeli businessmen, Milei delved into the attack: "The political caste, as we call that group of criminals who want a worse

Argentina

, began to dismantle our law (...) "King Midas made everything he touched gold; everything a left-handed person touches turns into poverty."

Milei attacked "the governors" without specifying their names. He blames a group of governors for ordering their deputies to "dismember" his lavish Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, presented in December and which originally consisted of 664 articles spread over 351 pages. The text had already been reduced to approximately a third, although it remained

an important instrument of deregulation and liberalization of the Argentine economy

, to which was also added the vast Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) signed in December.

The

omnibus law

had been approved by 144 votes to 109

last Thursday, but this Tuesday part of the dialogue opposition that had supported the law in general objected to various articles to chain a series of defeats in aspects that Milei considered non-negotiable. This led them to coincide with the 99 Kirchner deputies, who voted against the law in its entirety, and to the presidential explosion from Jerusalem.


The political environment is dense: most of the governors are deeply offended with the president, as well as a good part of the opposition legislators. No wonder, MIlei liked

a

tweet in which the social democratic

Radical Civic Union

(UCR) is denigrated, which, despite its enormous differences, sought to support the Government: "Radicalism once again confirms that "They only serve to be the little whores of Peronism."

"It was clearly absurd to imagine that Congress and the governors were going to commit political suicide by granting the president very broad powers in all areas - economic, social, cultural - without anything in return, not even the commitment that, at least , some revenue would come to their fiscal coffers," wrote

La Nación

.

And now? There are doubts about whether Milei will give the speech that the president gives every March 1 before the Legislative Assembly to inaugurate the period of ordinary sessions. And a direct appeal

to the people

is emerging, bypassing "the caste": a non-binding popular consultation, but one that serves to corner Parliament. To hold a plebiscite, both chambers of Congress need to support the call.

"We are evaluating it," presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said this Wednesday. "We are not going to allow them to stop the Argentina of the future."