(Buenos Aires) A virulent debate continued Thursday in the Argentine Parliament on the deregulatory reforms of ultraliberal President Javier Milei, against a backdrop of tension maintained outside by a second mobilization in two days, under an imposing police force.
Several hundred people, gathered at the call of radical left movements already present the day before, a public service union, a youth party, faced a large police cordon at the end of the day, without any other initial incident that a brief stampede noted by the AFP.
A demonstrator was injured in the face and evacuated, in initially unconfirmed circumstances.
On Wednesday, a demonstration of several thousand people, calm for most of the day, got out of hand in the evening with a few clashes with the police, who used tear gas to clear traffic routes, dispersing a few dozen remaining demonstrators. demonstrators, noted AFP.
Six people were arrested, all released on Thursday, in what the moderate opposition party UCR (center right) described as “a dangerous repressive advance fueled by the executive”.
A ruling party MP reported on Thursday that a police officer was lightly injured on Wednesday.
At midday, the deputies resumed the debate on Thursday, after a twelve-hour session on Wednesday, on Javier Milei’s vast and controversial reform package, affecting many aspects of the economy, public and private spheres.
Disproportionate with 664 articles in its initial version, the so-called “omnibus” law was unraveled gradually through parliamentary negotiations, in committees, and according to legislative sources cited by the press, only 224 provisions remain.
But a written version of the text, apparently in constant evolution, had still not circulated among the deputies Thursday afternoon, arousing the indignation of left-wing parliamentarians.
Two aspects in particular generate resistance: the extent of privatizations, with 40 companies targeted, and the delegation of increased powers to the executive, for a limited period, in the name of “economic emergency”, in matters of tariffs, energy, tax in particular.
After a debate destined to stretch late into the night, the deputies were to proceed, on Friday at best, to a first so-called “general” vote on the principle of the law, before a second crucial stage of debate on the details of the articles, where several groups are aiming for additional changes.