Government circulates new text of sweeping reform bill – now slashed by half to 269 articles – to regional power-borkers in bid to win support before it heads to Congress,
President Javier Milei has circulated a new trimmed version of this reform package to the country’s governors in a bid to win their support before he resubmits it to the Congress.
The so-called “omnibus bill” – now containing 269 articles, less than half than the original version – excludes the privatisation of state-run energy giant YPF SA, while maintaining the privatisation of airline Aerolíneas Argentinas SA.
The bill also includes a new formula for calculationg pension payments that make up a major portion of government spending and often hit a social nerve in Argentina.
The new version illustrates Milei’s revised negotiating tactic, seeking to build support among Argentina’s gpvernors this time, instead of rushing it through Congress without listening to their input.
All the nation’s provincial governors attended a meeting at Casa Rosada on March 8.
In exchange, Milei’s goverment is offering “fiscal relief” to provinces badly in need of federal funding to shore up provincial coffers that pay state worker’s salaries and bondholders.
The first few articles of the new bill establish the declaration of a “public emergency in administrative, economic, financial and energy matters”, during which President Milei would have special powers for a period of one year.
State firms Energía Argentina (Enarsa) and Radio y Televisión Argentina are also included on the list of companies to be privatised. On the other hand, Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, Banco Nación and all companies in the Grupo Nación and Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales (Arsat) orbit “may only be privatised partly, and the State shall keep its majority interest in the capital or coporate decision-making.
There are also several changes for the Employment Contract Law, such as establishing the mandatory nature of the “discount of the proportional portion of pension contributions for the days when the employees has chosen to exercise their right to strike” – a move that could strain ties with unions.
Milei’s first attempt at passing the omnibus bill stalled after the low house of Congress initially approved it in a general vote, but them a few days later, started rejecting several articles. That forced Milei to send the bill back to committee.
The new draft was circulated the same day senators debated whether to repeal Milei’s other major piece of legislation, on a sweeping December decree that focused on deregulationg various aspects of the economy.
SOURCE: www.batimes.com.ar