Clashes Between Protesters and Police in Argentina Following Approval of President's Plans

On Wednesday, June 13, the Argentine Senate approved President Javier Milei's plans to significantly reduce government spending and increase his powers by a narrow majority. As the Senate discussions lasted over a day, thousands of opponents of the President's plans gathered outside the Congress building to protest. The protests turned violent with protesters burning cars and throwing Molotov cocktails, prompting hundreds of police officers to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Although opposition senators managed to change a few aspects of the bill, including the income tax section, the overall approval of the plan marked a significant legislative victory for the right-wing President of Argentina. The votes in the Senate were tied, but Vice President Victoria Villarruel broke the tie in favor of Javier Milei's proposed reforms. During the lengthy Senate session, key provisions of the bill, including encouraging foreign investment, privatizing a range of state-owned companies, and reducing public debt, were approved, which Milei claims aims to resolve Argentina's structural and longstanding economic issues. This set of government reforms must be approved by the Argentine House of Representatives in the coming weeks before becoming law, and it is likely to pass there as well. After the Senate's approval, Javier Milei wrote on social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter): 'This is a great victory for the people of Argentina and the first step towards restoring greatness.' He described the bill as 'the largest reforms in the past 40 years.' The main points of contention between right-wing and left-wing representatives in the Senate regarding this 238-article bill included establishing a one-year state of emergency in the country and granting extensive powers to the President in energy, pensions, security, and other issues until the end of his presidency in 2027. Another contentious issue approved in the Senate was a set of measures aimed at encouraging investment, which significantly reduces their income tax for 30 years. Javier Milei has only two years of political experience in Argentina's legislative bodies, and his party, formed three years ago, holds about 15% of the seats in the House of Representatives and about 10% in the Senate. In the six months since he took office, Milei has not managed to pass any of his desired bills in Argentina's legislatures, and there are serious doubts about his promises to solve the country's economic problems, including reducing debt and encouraging economic growth. During this time, he has issued executive orders that have laid off thousands of public sector employees, canceled some government subsidies, devalued the Argentine peso, and deregulated parts of the economy. The reduction in government spending and the devaluation of the peso have exacerbated the economic recession in the short term, driving inflation to nearly 300% and recent surveys indicating that about 55% of the population has fallen below the poverty line. Experts believe that Milei's promises of stability in the national currency, reducing inflation, and attracting foreign investment will not be realized without a broad national consensus, as foreign investors need to be assured that his proposed reforms will be sustainable. Milei's government has announced that it is seeking a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund, to which Argentina currently owes $44 billion. Milei's allies say that during the Senate discussions, they accepted the removal of some provisions of the government's proposed reforms, the most important of which include not selling the post office, state-owned airlines, and the country's state radio, and postponing the sale or privatization of several other state companies, including the nuclear power company. Milei's initial plan to sell and privatize over 40 state-owned companies, announced during last year's election campaign, faced strong opposition from labor and employee unions. On Wednesday, a significant number of protesters gathered around the Senate building, many of whom were union members, chanting, 'Our country is not for sale.'