The Need and Urgency of a Country for the Few
El CLACSO Working Group on Collective Memories and Practices of Resistance It expresses its repudiation of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency and the Omnibus Bill presented by President Javier Milei, who in less than a month of government intends to forge the foundations of an authoritarian and exclusionary political project in Argentina.
Days after taking office, he signed an Emergency Decree, a constitutional tool intended only for exceptional and specific circumstances that do not currently exist in Argentina. With this decree, President Milei, with his signature alone, repeals or modifies more than 360 laws and regulations of the democratic system that were duly voted on by Congress and debated by Argentine society: from the Rental Law and labor legislation to the restrictions on land purchases by foreign investors.
In accordance with the Emergency Decree, the government recently presented a bill known as the “Omnibus Law” that declares a “public emergency” and proposes delegating broad legislative powers to the Executive Branch for a period of two years, renewable for up to four. In this way, Milei seeks to neutralize the role of Congress, violating the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. If approved, the Executive Branch would concentrate all public power and, at its sole discretion, could suspend fundamental rights and laws that express democratic consensus. But in addition to this concentration of power in the presidency, democratic institutions and human rights are seriously threatened by the content of the reforms included in the bill. The government's initiative incorporates a series of modifications to the Penal Code that increase penalties and the scope of prosecution for those who participate in, convene, or organize demonstrations, stipulating sentences of between two and six years in prison. It also modifies the concept of “self-defense,” expanding the discretion of police personnel to use force. To the repressive and persecutory framework is added a labor reform that, in practice, neutralizes the right to strike, repeals environmental laws protecting forests and glaciers, promotes a biological shift in gender issues, and includes a privatization package of 41 state-owned companies, among them the strategic and profitable energy and telecommunications companies YPF, Atucha, and ARSAT. The list of privatizations also includes all public media outlets and the dismantling of cultural institutions such as the INCAA (National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts) and the National Arts Fund. The project seeks to commodify all aspects of communal life. Along with the dismantling of the state, it promotes economic deregulation for the benefit of a handful of corporations, foreignizes the economy, and condemns the middle and working classes to brutal impoverishment.
To the package of measures included in the DNU and the Omnibus Bill, it is necessary to add the protocol "for the maintenance of public order" presented by the Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, which establishes rules of police action that aim at the repression of protest and the persecution of social leaders in a clear attempt to discipline the demands against the government.
Despite this intimidating display, the Argentine people responded with massive pot-banging protests and a national strike with a planned demonstration on January 24th in Plaza Congreso. The message is clear and directed at the members of parliament who have the power to reject the Emergency Decree and Milei's demand to approve the Omnibus Law and the delegation of extraordinary powers without debate.
The other institutional avenue that managed to curb the encroachment on democracy is proceeding through the judicial system, where the legal challenges filed by the two main labor unions – CGT and CTA – resulted in injunctions suspending the portion of the Emergency Decree (DNU) related to labor reforms. However, it is important to note that the rest of the decree remains in effect because the Supreme Court decided to address the substantive issue, namely its constitutionality, after the January judicial recess.
Meanwhile, the sharp devaluation of the peso tripled inflation rates and worsened the situation for the already battered middle and working classes, who bear the brunt of a brutal austerity program. Leveraging his electoral legitimacy, Milei's strategy was to "go for broke," imposing a program of neoliberal reforms whose measures were presented as inevitable. However, in this scenario, we also see an opportunity: the resilient organization of the vast affected social sectors and the possibility of building bridges between diverse struggles, organizations, and agendas to demand that senators and representatives legislate in favor of the majority. These are decisive hours for a democracy whose fragility is evident. We stand in solidarity with and renew our faith in the Argentine people, their collective tradition, their experience of struggle, and their resilient memory.
January 11, 2024
CLACSO Working Group
Collective memories and resistance practices
This statement expresses the position of the Working Group Collective memories and resistance practices and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
