Among the big stories we have been following is the Javier Milei epic, the tale of of the colorful new libertarian president of Argentina and his attempt to bring prosperity and freedom to the beleaguered South American country.
Once upon a time Argentina — named for the metal silver — was wealthy, its people gaining in prosperity. It was a common phrase, a century ago, to refer to a prosperous person as being “as rich as an Argentine.” But with the rise of fascism and Peronism and “modernism” in general, the old liberal peace and prosperity course of progress became a metastasizing cancer of statism and growing gap between the rich and poor. So the new president has presented a radical new reform bill to the Argentine congress.
The 351-page bill includes 664 articles aimed at deregulating and modifying laws pertaining to several sectors, including labor, commercial, real estate, aeronautics, and health. According to Milei, the omnibus bill contains two-thirds of all of his reform proposals.
Katarina Hill, “Milei Brings His Chainsaw to Argentina’s Regulatory State,” Reason (December 29, 2023).
A big part of the reform bill is a de-nationalization effort:
The bill mentions 41 companies it proposes to privatize, including the flagship airline Aerolíneas Argentinas, the oil company YFP, the country’s largest bank, Banco de la Nación, the news agency Télam, the water company AYSA, the Argentine mint, and the country’s rail system.
Hill, ibid.
While granting the president some huge powers for a two-year period, the bill would prohibit the government from engaging in all sorts of regulatory activity, especially in the energy industry:
Argentine President Javier Milei is seeking to extinguish decades of government intervention in the nation’s oil industry by unshackling crude exports and leaving local fuel prices at the whim of market forces.
Milei included such measures in sweeping legislation he sent to congress on Wednesday, the latest move since the libertarian president took office on Dec. 10 with a mission to deregulate Argentina’s tightly controlled economy. While his bill has far-reaching consequences for a slew of industries, it features a chapter specifically addressing oil.
Jonathan Gilbert, “Argentina’s Javier Milei Seeks Free Oil Markets in New Legislation,” Bloomberg (December 28, 2023).
The bill would increase export taxes, but offer a tax amnesty for Argentinians. It would eliminate the presidential primary. Other political reforms include
Changes to Argentina’s proportional representation electoral system would raise the number of lawmakers in each district to one per 161,000 inhabitants, from one per 180,000 inhabitants. This would give more power to the populous province of Buenos Aires in the lower house of Congress, according to a note to clients by consultancy firm 1816.
Lucinda Elliott, “What is in Javier Milei’s sweeping Argentina reform bill?” Reuters (December 28, 2023).
The “chainsaw” is in the hands of legislators now.
