The Chamber of Deputies of Argentina will hold a special session on Wednesday in which it will debate the project of the so-called ‘omnibus law‘one of the star plans of the Executive chaired by the libertarian Javier Milei.
The president of the lower house, Martín Menem, this Monday called the parliamentarians to a plenary session next Wednesday through a statement to which EFE had access.
The session will begin at 10:00 local time (13:00 GMT) and the Argentine media speculate that the debate could last more than thirty hours.
The draft Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, as the ‘omnibus law’has aroused important controversies in political parties opposed to the Government.
Initially, libertarians expected that the debate on this broad package of more than 300 measures would be held this Tuesday, but the lack of political support has forced the authorities to delay the call for one day.
Initially, the Milei Government proposed a battery of about 600 articles to reform, suppress or repeal various laws, but, after the last review to which it was subjected last Sunday, only 386 articles remain within this initiative.
The Executive, pressured by its partners and the provincial governors, changed some of the most controversial aspects of the ‘omnibus law’ which, if approved, would directly impact the politics and economy of Argentina.
At the moment, the fiscal chapter of the project has already been withdrawn, which implies a retreat by the Executive regarding export rights, changes in the pension adjustment formulas or money laundering policies.
“Within the fiscal package, the delegated powers in fiscal and social security matters are withdrawn,” The presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said this Monday in his daily press conference at the Casa Rosada (seat of Government).
Precisely, the delegation of legislative powers to the Executive Branch in the framework of a multiple emergency is the most controversial point of the project.
La Libertad Avanza, the far-right political force led by Milei, finds itself in a minority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which will have to debate and give the final “yes” to the ‘omnibus law’ project if it passes the Wednesday’s proceedings in the Lower House.
What is the ‘omnibus law’ and what does it propose?
The omnibus law is a 351-page megaproject with more than 664 articles that is discussed in Congress during the extraordinary session period.
Among other things, it contemplates the privatization of all state companies, the suspension of retirement mobility, the increase in penalties against protesters, the permissiveness for “trigger-happy” police, the transformation of the electoral system, the relaxation of environmental regulations and a reform of the educational system.
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The main points of the Milei Omnibus Law
Meetings, protests and trigger-happy
The chapter dedicated to controlling the streets of the presidential megaproject proposes reforming the Penal Code with increased penalties against protesters, to the point of making them non-releaseable.
The initial text included the absurdity that if three or more people gather in public spaces, they must ask permission from the Ministry of Security. That article was later withdrawn.
Furthermore, the State’s scrapping project expands the range of pretexts for police officers to shoot without asking. Social organizations, targets of persecution.
Companies to be privatized
Aerolíneas Argentinas, Arsat, the trains, Aysa, Public TV and Banco Nación are some of the most emblematic public companies that President Milei will seek to privatize and included in an annexed list, with another 41 companies and companies with majority state participation, in the Omnibus Law to Congress. Argentine Energy (the former Enarsa), Military Manufacturing, atomic power plants, the general administration of ports, road corridors, Correo Argentino and Télam are other names that make up the list.
Politics and elections
The President incorporated into the omnibus law a wide range of initiatives ranging from the repeal of the Primaries, the implementation of the Single Paper Ballot to a surprising proposal to modify the composition of Deputies and fragment Argentina into many electoral districts.
Due obedience
Article 344 of the omnibus law that Javier Milei sent to Congress modifies the parameters of self-defense through the change in article 34 of the Penal Code.
This enables a strong hand in the security forces and even considers due obedience to exempt from guilt and charges. Could sentences for crimes against humanity fall during the dictatorship?
Education
The project directly hits one of the guiding principles of public education: its freeness. Among the hundreds of articles in the text sent to Congress, one section proposes that universities be subject to fees for non-resident foreign citizens, modifies entry requirements and changes the guidelines for financing higher education.
Furthermore, while until now state universities were expressly prohibited from signing agreements or agreements “that involve offering education as a lucrative service or that encourage forms of commercialization,” Milei’s project leaves several gray spaces.
Culture
The omnibus law that Milei sent to Congress entails a drastic adjustment to the cultural sector. It contemplates only two destinations for the organizations that protect and promote culture throughout the national territory.
The reform package includes the closure of the National Theater Institute (INT) and the National Fund for the Arts (FNA); and the definancing of the INCAA, the National Institute of Music (Inamu) and the National Commission of Popular Libraries (Conabip). “Emerging artists with scholarships, independent plays and popular neighborhood libraries could cease to exist,” ATE Cultura Nación warned on Twitter.
Gender and diversity
On the same day, the transformation of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity into an undersecretary was confirmed and, through the omnibus law that Javier Milei sent to Congress, it is proposed to limit the Micaela law and return to concepts such as “domestic violence” and “unborn children.”
Deregulation
The project seeks to reduce the State to a minimum, expand the deregulation of large market companies and promote the concentration of large economic groups. Sugar, books, resale of tickets for sporting events, satellite signals and insurance, among others.
Retirees
The omnibus law dedicates an article to retirees. And it doesn’t bring good news. The mobility formula is eliminated and the Executive Branch will decide when and how much it will increase retirements.
Environment
The project includes controversial modifications linked to environmental care such as the Glacier Law, the Forest Law and the Environmental Protection Law to Control Burning Activities.
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With information from EFE.
Source: Gestion
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