Milei Government: ‘omnibus law’ will be debated from Monday and will be “a reality”

The Law Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, better known as ‘omnibus law’which failed in its parliamentary procedure in February, will begin to be debated again on Monday and, as stated this Friday by the Government of Javier Milei, be “a reality”.

“Conceptually, the ‘Bases Law’ is going to be a reality and the modifications are part of taking steps forward. Little by little, it was understood that it was a law for the people. Whatever is outside the law, we will continue to seek consensus for the Argentina”, said the presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, during his daily press conference at Casa Rosada, headquarters of the Executive.

After obtaining the commission’s opinion the day before, this megaproject will be debated again in the Argentine Congress next Monday and Tuesday, when the Government hopes to obtain between 135 and 140 votes to approve it in the Lower House, although there is resistance to some of them. the 279 articles.

Originally, the law had 664 more annexed articles, but given the general rejection in the Deputies and the countless modifications, Milei had given the order for it to return to committees, after being sent for the first time last February.

Among the most important issues that will be debated from Monday is the labor reform, which was cut from 60 to 16 articles, after meetings with state officials, governors and the country’s main unions, such as the General Confederation of Labor (CGT).

Initially, it was part of the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU), presented by the president in December, but that section was stopped by Justice after a request from the unions.

Among the notable changes to the initial text of the ‘omnibus law’ is the elimination of Banco Nación (state banking entity) from the list of companies to be privatized and the sections related to the collection of public securities in the hands of the Sustainability Guarantee Fund , which seek to promote economic growth.

The opposition anticipated that it will push to reincorporate the chapter on tobacco taxes, which the Executive removed by “lack of consensus”to return the increase of 70% to 73% in the internal tax rate.

“We understand that there will be no modifications to the law. In general, public companies are susceptible to privatization at some point because certain functions no longer need to be carried out by the State; “It will always be governed with that logic.”Adorni added.

For his part, in statements to Radio Miter, the Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, who has led the negotiations with the provincial governors – all opposition -, considered that there will be “topics” that the Radical Civic Union (UCR, center) will try to add during the debate, since in previous meetings it “hindered the negotiation with other blocks.”

Regarding the privatization of Banco Nación, the minister expressed that the Executive will seek to imitate policies used by the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took the entity to the New York Stock Exchange.

“If a public bank in Brazil, under Lula’s presidency, became a publicly traded company that included private capital, why not do it here?” he asked himself.

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