Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina’s Congress on Wednesday upheld President Javier Milei’s veto of a bill to increase pensions, which sparked clashes outside parliament. Thousands gathered to protest Milei’s veto, with police firing pepper spray and rubber bullets at one group, including pensioners, who angrily broke down a barrier after the vote. Twelve people were injured and three arrested, according to the TN television network. No official confirmation of those figures was available.
Milei, a budget-slashing libertarian, last week blocked an 8.1-percent pension increase that had been initially approved by both houses of Congress, aimed at helping retirees in the South American country facing annual inflation of almost 240 percent. The president claimed the measure was fiscally irresponsible. However, after a bitter debate lasting over four hours, Milei prevailed, with 153 members voting against overriding the president’s veto, short of the two-thirds majority in the Senate needed for such action. Eighty-seven lawmakers voted in favor, and eight abstained.
“Today, 87 heroes slammed the brakes on the fiscal degenerates who tried to destroy the fiscal surplus that Argentines worked so hard to achieve,” Milei cheered on X. His party is in a minority in parliament and is divided. The attempt to overturn his veto fell apart after he managed to win over parts of the center and center-right. Juliana Santillan of Milei’s Libertad Avanza party argued, “We cannot spend what we do not have; there is no money.” However, Rodrigo de Loredo, a centrist lawmaker who voted to override the veto, stated that retirees deserve the modest raise, which he compared to the cost of a dozen empanadas, the Argentine staple pastry. The minimum pension is equivalent to $230 per month.
Several pensioners were among those who clashed with police or were detained. Patricia de Luca, a psychologist who has just retired, expressed feeling “betrayed” by lawmakers and “hopeless.” Since taking office in December, Milei has implemented a drastic austerity program in an attempt to rein in chronic inflation and decades of government overspending. Inflation for August stood at 4.2 percent, marking the fourth consecutive month under five percent and a significant drop from the 25.5 percent recorded in December. However, year-on-year inflation remained alarmingly high at 236.7 percent.
Critics argue that the steep drop in inflation and other apparent economic gains have come at the expense of the poor and working classes, resulting from a strangling of the economy. Milei’s veto particularly sparked anger as it came after he decreed an increase of $102 million in the budget for the state intelligence agency—a 700 percent increase—without requiring justification for the expenditure.
© 2024 AFP
