Sawt Falasteen - Argentina lawmakers debate Milei's hefty reform package

Milei's so-called "Omnibus bill" initially contained 664 articles, but has lost almost half of these in tough negotiations with the opposition who largely outnumber his party in Congress.

"We have reached an agreement" for the bill to be approved "in general," said ruling party lawmaker Jose Luis Espert before the session started. Milei's party, Libertad Avanza, has only 38 of the 257 seats in Congress.

Milei, a libertarian and self-described "anarchocapitalist," took office in December vowing to slash spending and end decades of economic crisis in South America's third-largest economy, where annual inflation stands at over 200 percent.

He began his mandate by devaluing the peso by more than 50 percent, cutting state subsidies for fuel and transport, reducing the number of ministries by half, and scrapping hundreds of rules to deregulate the economy.

His massive reform package touches on all areas of public and private life, from privatizations to cultural issues, the penal code, and divorce, to the status of football clubs.

Milei notably was forced to remove a set of tax reforms he had hoped would help his government cut five percent of spending, and a highly controversial modification on how pensions are calculated.

Moderate opposition lawmakers have warned they will seek further changes to the bill, in particular on the touchy issue of the delegation of special powers to the executive in an economic emergency, as well as on the scope and extent of privatizations.

A few hundred protesters gathered outside the legislature to express their unhappiness with the reform bill, according to AFP reporters.

Lawmakers are preparing for a marathon session, with an initial 35 hours of debate planned over several days, and 200 speeches.

X.Habash--SF-PST