Argentina's Milei orders deregulation of economy, thousands in protest
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Argentina's new leader unveiled a series of measures to deregulate the country's struggling economy, eliminating or changing more than 300 rules via presidential decree.
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Security forces deploy in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, December 20, 2023. (AP)
On Wednesday, Argentina's new leader Javier Milei revealed a series of measures to deregulate the country's struggling economy, eliminating or changing more than 300 regulations via the presidential decree, including on rent and labor practices.
In a televised speech from the presidential palace, flanked by his cabinet, he stated that "the goal is to start along the path to rebuilding the country... and start to undo the huge number of regulations that have held back and prevented economic growth."
Latin America's third-biggest economy is suffering from inflation surpassing 160 percent year-on-year, with 40 percent of Argentinians living in poverty.
Milei took office 10 days ago, after being elected last month and pledged to curb inflation, but warned that economic "shock" treatment is the only solution for the economy. Some of the suggested changes include the elimination of a law regulating rent and preventing the privatization of state enterprises.
Read next: Argentina FM criticizes presidential candidate's "dollarizing economy"
He announced a "modernization of labor law to facilitate the process of creating real jobs", along with a series of deregulatory measures affecting tourism, satellite internet services, pharmaceuticals, wine production, and foreign trade.
Argentinians in protest of new regulations
Thousands voiced their discontent in protests near Argentina's Congress.
The published decree must still be assessed by a joint committee of lawmakers from both chambers of the legislature within 10 days. According to Emiliano Vitaliani, a constitutional law expert, the decree can be overturned only if rejected by both the lower House and the Senate.
It is worth noting that Milei's far-right Libertad Avanza party only has 40 seats in the 257-member lower house and seven senators out of 72.
Milei's "shock" austerity
When he took office, Milei vowed to dollarize the Argentinian economy, and has been compared to former US President Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
He has also been a stark advocate of a friendly foreign policy with the US and "Israel" as well as anti-BRICS sentiments, opting for involvement in the South American trade bloc.
Milei told Argentinians to brace themselves for tough austerity measures as he strives to slash expenditures and reduce triple-digit inflation while operating with empty funds.
