Milei warned the Argentine Congress that he will govern “with or without” political support

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, said this Friday before the Congress who will go all out with his ultraliberal reforms “with or without the support of the political leadership”in his opening speech to the legislative sessions.

“Our convictions are unalterable, we will organize the public accounts with or without the help of the rest of the political leadership”said the president, assuring that if Congress does not approve his reforms, he will use “all the legal resources of the national executive power.”

“When we encounter an obstacle, we are not going to turn back, we are going to continue accelerating,” the president said to cheers.

“If what you seek is conflict, you will have conflict”he added.

Milei summarized the measures taken in his first 82 days in office, in which he implemented draconian fiscal adjustments. Added to the accelerated increase in food and medicine prices was the removal of subsidies in public services, which caused an abrupt adjustment in rates.

To the Argentines, who suffer from inflation of more than 250% year-on-year and poverty that reaches more than 50% of the population, “I ask for your patience and trust.”said the president.

“There is still some time before we can perceive the fruit of economic healing and the reforms that we are implementing,” he assured. “We have not yet seen all the effects of the disaster we inherited, but we are convinced that we are on the right path, because for the first time in history we are attacking the problem for its cause: the fiscal deficit, and not for its symptoms.”

The official deputy José Luis Espert said at the end of the speech that he thought it was good “put all the meat on the spit” in reference to stating the plan clearly; while for the opposition representative Myriam Bregman it was about “a smoke screen to not talk about reality”

The speech took place at 9:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT) in the midst of a strong security operation, while hundreds of people protested at the doors of Congress in repudiation of the adjustment measures.

“It makes my stomach turn,” commented Elba Sarmiento, a 37-year-old artisan. “What is happening is terrible. “This is an extermination of the poor.”

“May Pact”

The president called on the entire political spectrum to sign a new “social contract” of ten points already established, among which the defense listed “inviolable” of private property and fiscal balance “non-negotiable”.

Milei called to sign the “May Pact” in the province of Córdoba (center) on the 25th of that month, anniversary of the Revolution of 1810 that led to Argentine independence from the Spanish crown in 1816.

“He does not tell them (the legislators) directly that he is going to govern by decree, although he threatens them by saying that the laws are going to be issued by Congress or by decree, but he offers them a closed book agreement,” said Iván Schuliaquer, a political scientist at the National University of San Martín.

“He proposes that the only popular will that is valid is the one that voted for him and not for the governors or the deputies and senators,” he added.

On the other hand, the expert considered that by proposing an upcoming political pact, Milei “It sets a horizon for politics three months from now, knowing that the economy of most people is going to be worse in those months.”

Milei himself had said in an interview that “the worst (of the adjustment) will come in March and April; We will hit rock bottom and then rebound.”

“Useful Idiots”

Ten days after taking office, Milei had launched a presidential decree (DNU) that modified or repealed more than 300 regulations for a profound deregulation of the economy, but the initiative accumulated dozens of precautionary measures that question its constitutionality and its labor chapter is suspended by the Justice.

Then he sent the call to Congress “Omnibus Law” with 664 articles, but the project did not have sufficient support in Congress and Milei ordered its withdrawal.

He then called the opposition political leaders who criticized the DNU “useful idiots.” To the deputies, their own and others, who did not approve the articles of the “omnibus law”, He classified them as traitors.

The International Monetary Fund, which predicts an economic contraction of 2.8% in 2024 for Argentina, welcomed the measures taken by the government but recommended that these be calibrated to protect the poorest social sectors.

In 2018, under the presidency of Mauricio Macri, Argentina contracted a debt with the organization for US$57,000 million, of which it received just over 44,000 million in a program that is still in force.