The Argentine Congress granted general approval on Friday to the Fundamental Law and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentinians, a comprehensive reform package popularly known as the ‘omnibus law’ due to its extensive proposed changes, spearheaded by President Javier Milei. The Liberty Advances (LLA), led by Milei, secured 144 votes in favor and faced 109 against their proposal on the third day of deliberations in the Chamber of Deputies, amid vigorous protests against the measure. The detailed examination and voting on specific articles are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. Additionally, the Senate needs to endorse the law. Milei describes the ‘omnibus law’ as the most profound among the three reform packages he introduced within his initial 20 days in office.
In his second week as president, Milei unveiled a ‘decree of necessity and urgency’ (DNU) aimed at modifying or abolishing 366 laws governing various sectors of the economy—a ‘megadecree’ that has sparked legal challenges and triggered ‘cacerolazos’ (neighborhood protests with people banging pots). However, protests intensified with the introduction of the third element of the president’s ‘libertarian’ reforms: the ‘omnibus law,’ originally encompassing over 660 articles (later halved following government concessions to ensure approval of the legislative package). Milei claims that the Base Law—its official title—represents his most profound proposal, covering ‘two-thirds’ of all his reforms. Primary unions, already coordinating a general strike, and opposition parties are at odds with these reforms, with their supporters staging protests outside the Congress, where the Chamber of Deputies commenced deliberations on the proposal during marathon special sessions. Tensions have risen with law enforcement, implementing a ‘security protocol’ limiting protests in public spaces. The confrontations escalated into violence on Thursday night, with police and gendarmes using rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse protests, resulting in several injuries, including journalists and a parliamentary advisor.
What does the ‘omnibus law’ entail? While Milei’s ‘megadecree’ seeks to deregulate various economic sectors—ranging from labor and commerce to real estate, aviation, health, and even football clubs—the legislative package focuses on areas exclusively modifiable by Congress, according to the Constitution. Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni outlined that “the text includes profound, necessary, and urgent reforms in tax, labor, criminal, energy, and electoral matters.” Of the roughly 380 remaining articles, the most notable—and contentious, according to critics—is the provision calling for the declaration of a ‘public emergency’ in economic, financial, tariff, energy, and administrative spheres, providing the president with ‘extraordinary powers’ to make decisions in these areas without requiring congressional approval. Although the initial proposal sought special powers for reforming additional areas, including fiscal, pension, health, security, and defense, the government reduced the ’emergencies’ by more than half to secure approval for the legislative package. The duration of these powers has also been curtailed; the initial proposal envisioned a two-year period extendable by the Executive for an additional two years, covering the entire term of Milei. The current proposal being debated in Congress shortens that period to one year, with the potential for a one-year extension, subject to parliamentary approval.
