How the worst parliamentary defeat of Javier Milei happened since he is president of Argentina (and that led some officials to speak of “institutional coup”)

Javier Milei President of Argentina — Photo foot, The Argentine president hopes to veto the four bills to avoid increasing public spending, one of his campaign promises.

- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
3 hours

This Thursday, the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, suffered his worst parliamentary defeat since he began his term two years ago.

In the midst of a turbulent day, the Argentine Senate approved four bills that the Casa Rosada considers that they endanger the fiscal balance, one of Milei's priorities since its possession in December 2023.

The four approved laws, which the libertarian president announced that he will veto, include a 7% increase in pensions, the expansion of benefits for people with disabilities, the unlocking of national funds to be used in the provinces and a series of changes in the distribution of tax burdens in the commercialization of fuels.

Milei's reaction was immediate and forceful.

During an event in the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, the President said that “we are going to veto. And if the circumstance still became, that I do not believe, that the veto falls, we will prosecute it.”

“Even if the justice suddenly had an act of speed of things that it takes for years to treat and treat it in a short time, even so the damage they could cause would be minimal, only one stain in two months, which on December 11 (day that the new congress takes possession) we will reverse it in case it was successful, which the policy of the fiscal surplus is permanent.”

According to Milei himself, if these laws are executed, a 2.5% increase in public spending would be observed, something that goes against its austerity and financial surplus policies.

But other officials of his circle went further and described the decision of the Senate as “an institutional blow.”

This political setback occurs precisely in an electoral year: next October the legislative elections of mid -term will be held, which will determine the fate of the second part of the mandate of Milei until 2027.

Argentine Congress couple. — Photo foot, The Argentine Congress approved on Thursday four laws that go against the austerity measures that the central government wants.

And this is all known in the political spectrum, from the areas closest to the La Libertad Avanza party, to which Milei belongs, such as the opposition, close to the historic Peronism – including the Kirchnerists – and who were the promoters of these four initiatives.

The official party is a minority within the Congress and depends on alliances with other political forces, such as the Pro -who leads former President Mauricio Macri -to carry out his initiatives.

That is why it is key to the Government a good result in the mid -term elections in October.

Historical defeat

In addition to the four projects approved by the Senate this Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies also rejected the veto that the President had imposed on a series of financial aid for the victims of the floods of Bahía Blanca, a city located in the south of the province of Buenos Aires.

Last March, at least 18 people died there and more than 1,400 were affected by torrential downpours. However, the central government blocked a package of financial aid to relieve the crisis.

To this fact are added other measures of the Milei government that have caused friction with the governors of the provinces, especially to block the payments of the National Treasury Office to which the provincial leaders are entitled.

Man in front of a poster of a 100 dollars ticket in Buenos Aires — Photo foot, In the last two years Argentina has been under fiscal control that has revitalized the economy, but has caused strong social cuts.

The distancing was evidenced on July 9 during an event in the city of Tucumán to mark the celebrations for the independence of the country. There was expected, as is traditional, the presence of the president accompanied by the local leaders.

However, Milei canceled his presence a few hours before the event.

The Government reported that the president did not travel due to adverse climatic conditions, but local political analysts and journalists attributed this absence to the fact that only three of the 23 governors had confirmed their presence.

“They want to destroy the National Government,” Milei charged against the governors in an interview with the Radio El Observador.

Tanks and airplanes

Government officials, such as the Chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos, considered that the opposition made “an institutional blow” in the Senate and that the session was not valid since it had not been convened by the president of the Upper House, the Argentine vice president Victoria Villaruel.

But some content producers very close to the president – as Daniel Parisini, known as “El Gordo Dan”, and Franco Antunes, aka Fran Fijap – went beyond:

Parisini posted on his Twitter account: “The tanks to the street, already. Strikers (tank type) on July 9 now, Javeto. The moment has arrived.”

He added: “Javo, I put a F16 to fly over Congress.”

Antunes joined him: “You have to dynamite the entire congress, with deputies and senators inside.”

These comments were rejected by several politicians such as the opposition senator Juliana Di Tullio.

“I am not only making a public complaint with these threats, I will make a criminal complaint. This is unacceptable,” he said during a plenary of the Congress.

Group of retirees in front of the Argentine Congress — Photo foot, In recent months, retirees have made demonstrations against the Argentine Congress to avoid pension cut.

Experts such as Ignacio Fidanza, a journalist of the Portal Policies, point out that this legislative setback has to do with wear in austerity policies that have begun to affect different areas of the country.

“Macroeconomic achievements are under discussion. The triggered real economy, with bankruptcuaries, industrial companies and shops,” he wrote.

But it is not the only factor that was part of this process: there is also the influence that several governors of the provinces – representatives of different political parties – have exerted to make the approval of these measures, which highlight the distancing between the Casa Rosada and the regional powers.

The fact that worries the government, as noted by columnist Claudio Jacquelin in the Argentine newspaper La Nación, is that the approval of these laws reached two thirds of the senators.

“The electoral process in progress also contributes its own and shows signs of a reorganization that is not the one that imagined until very recently the ruling,” says the journalist.