From the electoral system to tax collection, including the privatization of all state-owned enterprises in various sectors like water, postal, air and rail transport…no area has escaped this “omnibus” bill.
The government's mission is clear: to regulate all areas of the economy, and Argentine life in general, by minimizing state intervention. But the text, bapt “The Basic Law and the Starting Points for Argentina's Independence”. It also reveals the anti-democratic temptation of new power.
“Whoever votes for this law votes for dictatorship”
The government actually proposes to declare a state“Public Emergency” In many areas (economy, taxes, finance, pensions, energy, defense, tariffs), it will allow Javier Mille to rule without parliament until the end of his mandate. In line with the tightening of security initiated by the new government, the law also threatens the right to protest. If passed, protesters who block traffic could face up to three-and-a-half years in prison and up to five years in prison.Organizers or Convenors of the Meeting”.
“Whoever votes for this law votes for dictatorship” Myriam Bregman, a lawyer and left-wing presidential candidate, warned that parliament is poised to study the text during extraordinary sessions convened until January 31.
Its release comes a week after the much-criticized “mega order” was issued on December 20, in the backdrop of social protests. More comprehensive (more than 300 measures), it establishes, among other things, the end of rent control and price controls in supermarkets, modifies the compensation system in case of dismissal and restricts the right to strike.
“Down with the order!”, “General strike”, “The motherland cannot be sold” Can it be read on the banners of various social organizations in front of the court on December 26? The anxiety was palpable in the packed crowd (20,000 to 25,000 people according to CGD). “MPs should stop him from trashing our country” Begged Alejandro in the thirties. This math professor believes the “mega-mandate” will be invalidated by Congress and the Senate, the only constitutionally-provided way for it to be repealed.
In Argentina, Javier Mille has already tested the streets: “Mili believes he can do what he wants with Argentina, and the people will let him do it”
Legal action
But the calendar currently works in favor of the administration. Despite the mobilization, the decree was officially issued on December 29 without passing parliament, which is currently on summer recess. According to the newspaper nationEven if parliamentarians from both houses come together to repeal the speech, this cannot happen before March 2024, when regular sessions resume.
There is a legal path. More than two dozen appeals seeking suspension of the “mega mandate” have to be examined by the courts. According to the Argentine Constitution, this exceptional legislative instrument must be justified by the administration as “necessary and urgent”. However, for constitutionalist Andres Gil Dominguez, who published a lengthy analysis of the text in Platform X, “This is a clear attempt to concentrate public power, not connected to an objective emergency situation, only to the need to impose a political plan.”
About the “Omnibus Act”, the lawyer believes, it is like a “Hidden Constitutional Reform Attempt”. In parliament, where Javier Mili's party “Freedom Advance” does not have a majority, tensions are rising. No date has been set for the vote, but House of Representatives Speaker Martin Menem told the Infobae website: “Everybody needs to understand that Argentina not only doesn't have the money, it also doesn't have the time [à perdre] no”. The executive involved in the bank will also have to face the streets in order to adopt the law by the end of January: the CGT has already called a national strike on January 24.
Argentina: Miley's government begins with nearly 161% inflation
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