Political tension is growing in the country. After the general approval of the Base Law, the legislators of the Upper House who supported the project warned that if Milei “breaks the agreements, he will lose confidence.” This warning comes at a critical moment, where the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate seek to find a balance in the approval of important legislative projects.
In a recent meeting, Senators outside the hard core of LLA advised the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos, to respect what was approved in the Upper House. “We must comply with the agreements, let’s not break the rules because it will get complicated,” was the advice that a deputy left Francos.
However, it seems that this advice did not have much effect on the coordinating minister, since He carried the message of going for the original version of the fiscal package to his main allies in Deputies, while giving a little more freedom about what could happen with the Base Law.
Key figures such as Cristian Ritondo and Silvia Lospennato (PRO), Miguel Ángel Pichetto (We Make the Federal Coalition), Rodrigo De Loredo (UCR), Juan Manuel López (Civic Coalition), Pamela Calletti (Federal Innovation), Gabriel Bornoroni ( LLA), Eduardo Falcone and Cecilia Ibánez (MID). Despite the opposition’s expectations, Francos did not present a list of specific requests, which left more doubts than answers.
The deputies most sympathetic to the Milei government decided to take the long weekend to study what was approved in the Senate and will meet again on Tuesday. There is confidence that they could repeat the results of the end of April, when the Base Law was approved with 142 votes and the fiscal package with 140.
Francos and the “ignorance” of agreements with the Senate
Francos ignored the agreements reached with the Senate, stating: “There was no negotiation, Aerolíneas got out of the privatizations because we did not have the numbers.”
This statement refers to the exclusion of Aerolíneas Argentinas, Correo Argentino and public media from the privatization chapter during last Wednesday’s session in the Senate. The decision was interpreted as a signal to the radical senators and federal blocs who had requested the exclusion of these companies from the sale plan.
“They should respect the commitments”: the warning from the senators who supported the Bases Law
An important non-K opposition senator expressed his concern to Clarín: «If they are the new and good thing in politics and they want to change things, they should respect the commitments made in the Senate in the text of the law. Otherwise, they will lose all confidence in the treatment of laws and the ability to reach agreements in the future. Senators such as Edgardo Kueider and Guadalupe Tagliaferri signed the opinion based on some modifications made to the text approved in Deputies, facing pressure and reproaches for their support.
Bases Law: which were the articles protected by the Senate
Several chapters of the Base Law were protected by the Senate by obtaining two-thirds in the particular vote. Among these issues are money laundering, which had modifications from the Senate; the controversial article 111, which aimed to eliminate tax extensions and modify the tax benefits scheme of Tierra del Fuego; and the increase in mining royalties from 3 to 5%, requested by Santa Cruz residents José Carambia and Natalia Gadano.
Bases Law: what will the return of the project to Deputies be like?
Articles like the reversal of the Income and Personal Assets tax were rejected by a simple majority, allowing them to be reintroduced in Deputies. The same will apply to changes to the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), modified to favor the promotion of local production chains associated with large investment projects.
An important official operator in Congress warned that the Casa Rosada must reflect on the consequences of insisting on the half-sanction of Deputies, according to Clarín. This is especially relevant given that the upcoming battles in the Senate include the approval of the documents of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla for the Supreme Court of Justice, as well as a new pension update formula that already has half the approval of Deputies.
In September, the Minister of EconomyLuis Caputo, will present his first Budget project for next year, adding more pressure on the Government to carefully manage legislative agreements and negotiations.
With information from Clarín
