Crisis for Argentina's Milei: omnibus bill sent back to commissions over lack of support

Argentina’s Lower House unexpectedly cut short what was expected to be a marathon debate on President Javier Milei’s Omnibus Bill, sending the entire bill back to commissions.

The move means that prior progress — including being approved as a whole on Friday on a 144 to 109 vote — has been voided after weeks of intense negotiations.

When they reached the privatization chapter, Mileist Congressman Deputy Gabriel Bornoroni asked for a 15-minute recess which lasted more than 45 minutes. The session resumed and Oscar Zago, head of Milei's LLA caucus, asked that the whole project be sent back to the commission - a motion that was approved immediately.

Earlier on Tuesday, deputies had approved articles that would have given certain legislative powers to the president if the bill were approved by the Senate.

However, since it’s getting booted back to commissions those votes are now void per Article 155 of Argentina's Lower House protocol.

The country's already-struggling economy has collapsed since Milei was elected two months ago, as businesses began taking advantage of price deregulation clauses well before their (as-yet uncertain) passage - raising retail prices by 25.5% and wholesale prices by an astonishing 54% in December alone, while wages rose only 8.3%.

At: https://buenosairesherald.com/politics/back-to-square-one-mileis-omnibus-bill-returned-to-commissions

Far-right Argentine President Javier Milei cries at Jerusalem's Wailing Wall during his state visit today.

While the Lower House had voted to advance Milei's wide-reaching deregulation and privatization bill, lawmakers today balked at giving the increasingly erratic Milei "emergency" powers.

The voting down of any of the provisions in the behemoth "omnibus" bill automatically sends the package to square one.

The setback is unprecedented in the country's 40-year modern democratic history, exposing what congressional opposition leader Gerardo Martínez called "a lack of understanding of congressional procedure" - by Milei, as well as by his cabinet and advisers.

Milei himself appeared to confirm this haplessness by pledging to submit the bill to a "plebiscite" - while apparently ignorant of the fact that it would be non-binding.