Argentine President Javier Milei on Friday vetoed a bill approved by Congress to reformulate the pension updating system, a measure already anticipated by the executive and which has been the subject of strong criticism.
Although the veto is expected to be published in the Official Gazette next Monday, sources from the Casa Rosada (seat of government) confirmed to EFE that the ultraliberal president He has already signed the resolution todayThe signing took place shortly after a meeting that the President held with parliamentarians of the ruling party and the opposition to dialogue.
The project that was vetoed and had been approved by the Senate on August 22established a monthly pension update formula that combines the inflation index and the average variation in formal wages, plus a extraordinary adjustment of 8.1%.
Milei’s veto comes after several warnings from members of the Executive, arguing that The planned increase would imply an expenditure of 1.2% of GDP. and would force the State into debt.
“We have to understand the context of all this, which is the attempt to break the budget balance and the seriousness of all this, when they propose an expenditure without corresponding resources. There is no other reason to proceed in this way than to break the balance of public accounts,” explained last Monday the spokesman of the presidency, Manuel Adorni.
Yes ok The Argentine Constitution allows the president to veto a law in whole or in part.Parliament can overcome this problem by submitting the bill to a vote again and obtaining the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of both legislative chambers.
Pensions were one of the missions most affected by the Milei Executive Adjustment Plan launched since he took office on December 10, even though in March the president updated pensions by decree, based on inflation, and not according to a formula in force since 2021.
With a inflation of 263.4% over one year, One of the highest in the world, Argentina has 65% of its 6.5 million retirees under minimum charges and emergency reinforcements that reach 305 dollars per month -at the official exchange rate-, which It represents 82% of the country’s legal minimum wage.
Last Wednesday, About 2,500 retirees marched from Congress to Casa Rosada (seat of government) to demand that the president not veto the law, which they said did not give them enough of a raise.
During the demonstration, clashes with policewho used pepper spray and hit some pensioners with batons (clubs), in accordance with the anti-riot protocol established by the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich.
OECD Secretary-General concludes visit to Argentina
The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Australian Mathias Cormann met Argentine President Javier Milei on Friday.at the end of his visit to the South American country, which is seeking to join the international organization.
“President Javier Milei received the Secretary General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, at the Casa Rosada,” announced the Argentine executive through a publication on the social network. accompanied by a photo de Milei with Cormann, in addition to Chancellor Diana Mondino; the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos; and the Secretary of Finance, Pablo Quirno.
The meeting, about which no details have been revealed, took place shortly after a joint statement between the Australian and Mondino this Friday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which they addressed the process of incorporation of Argentina into the organization.
“This is a process initiated by President Milei, but “It’s a process that will take time.” and “this will transcend the mandate of a single government,” said Cormann, who also stressed that Argentina will need “broad political support” to support its aspiration to join the OECD, in Congress, to pass laws, and therefore through successive presidents.
The Chancellor, for her part, explained that her country’s entry into the organisation, founded in 1961 and which includes 38 member states, “This is one of the country’s priority objectives”.
Cormann and his team conclude this Friday a two-day visit, organized by the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which consisted of meetings with a large part of the cabinet of ministers, with provincial governors, pro-government and opposition legislators, representatives of trade unionism, businessmen and academics.
On December 11, 2023, one day after Milei assumed Argentina’s four-year presidency, the South American country formally accepted the OECD’s proposal to join the organization, which had been taken in January 2022but left aside by former president Alberto Fernández (2019-2023).
Last May, the OECD Council of Ministers officially announced the roadmap for access to Argentinaand as part of this process, the country is working on preparing the “initial memorandum”, which will contain a self-assessment on the degree of alignment with the organization’s practices and which should be presented at the end of this year.
Argentina had reaffirmed under the presidency of Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) its desire to achieve a new status within the OECDBut the leadership of the Peronist Fernandez rejected the advances, which were taken up by Milei.
Under the last administration, Argentina was invited to join From 2024, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), but when the libertarian took office he rejected membership.
