After victories in approving the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility and labor reform, Javier Milei’s government promises to present around 90 structural reforms to be discussed in the Argentine Legislature, where the president now has a strong base.
According to the president, each ministry of his government has already structured ten of its own reform packages that will be presented to Congress in the coming months. The government’s chief of staff, Manuel Adorni, stated that the continuous sending of reform packages throughout the year aims to keep the Legislature in permanent activity and consolidate the economic and institutional program of the libertarian management.
Milei’s objective, in his own words, is “to redesign the institutional architecture of the new Argentina”. The judicial suspension of part of the labor reform this Monday (30), however, indicates that the libertarian government may face challenges outside the Legislature to implement its agenda.
State reform and deregulation
The central axis of the proposals that must be presented continues to be the reduction in the size of the State and the elimination of regulations considered excessive by the libertarian government. In his opening speech of the legislative year, at the beginning of March, Milei said that he intends to eliminate yet another series of regulatory obstacles that exist in Argentina to “unlock productive sectors” that, according to him, currently operate limited by state bureaucracy.
Packages that address this topic should include:
- review of standards that affect business activity;
- simplification of administrative rules; and
- opening of sectors considered “inactive” or uncompetitive.
According to local media, the Milei government seeks to create a more favorable environment for private investment and job creation with these reforms.
On Thursday (26), the government already presented to Congress the so-called “Hojarasca Law”, a project that provides for the repeal of more than 70 regulations considered obsolete, outdated or without practical application.
According to the Executive, the proposal sent to the Legislature seeks to “clean up” the Argentine legal system by eliminating old or redundant laws that, in the government’s opinion, generate bureaucracy, increase costs and, in some cases, restrict freedoms or economic activities.
Among the examples cited are rules outdated by technological changes, rules that created bodies that never functioned or have already been extinguished and even legislation considered incompatible with the Constitution.
Tax reform and economic agenda
Argentina’s Economy Minister, Luis Caputo, stated this month that another priority for the Milei government in this third year in office is to continue reducing taxes, as long as fiscal balance is maintained.
The reforms that must be sent to Congress in this regard include:
- gradual reduction of the tax burden;
- additional review of taxes at national, provincial and municipal levels;
- elimination of fees considered distortive; and
- encouraging the formalization of employment and savings.
According to the government, the reforms already approved, such as labor, are already part of this effort to expand the new base of the country’s economy.
Legal system and public security
The packages that will be sent to Congress also include more changes to legislation in the civil and criminal areas. According to the Argentine press, the Milei government intends to forward reform proposals to Congress to modify the Civil and Commercial Code; the Civil and Commercial Procedural Code; and the Penal Code.
The changes should include more severe penalties for serious crimes, greater application of sentences with closed regime and changes in the functioning of the Argentine Justice. The proposal must also defend the expansion of instruments to combat crime, one of the focuses of the libertarian government in recent years.
In his speech to Congress, Milei said that his government must present “projects that once again make the Judiciary a democratic, republican, agile, fast, effective and, above all, fair tool”.
Political and electoral reform
The Milei government also intends to change the rules of the electoral system and the functioning of parties. Behind-the-scenes information from the Argentine press suggests that among the measures under discussion are:
- changes in the model of electoral representation, currently based on proportional lists, in which voters vote for parties and not directly for individual candidates;
- review of campaign financing, currently made up of public and private resources, with the aim of increasing transparency in the relationship between politics and the private sector; and
- possible elimination or reformulation of primary elections (PASO), which today function as an obligatory step to define candidates before the general vote.
The proposal for changes in the primary elections, according to the local press, appears in discussions within the government base. Sources linked to the government said there is an intention to review or eliminate the current model.
Productive sectors and agribusiness
The reform plan must also directly target strategic sectors of the economy, with emphasis on agribusiness, energy and mining. One of the points discussed is the creation of rules to guarantee payment for the use of seed technologies – today widely reused in the country without compensation to developers. The Milei government considers this measure essential to increase agricultural productivity.
The reform package for this sector includes initiatives aimed at encouraging production in the field, improvements in logistics infrastructure and expansion of the exploration of resources such as lithium, copper and hydrocarbons.
The government argues that the changes, if approved, could increase the generation of foreign exchange and the competitiveness of the Argentine economy. Casa Rosada should also seek changes to the so-called Rural Land Law, with the proposal to make the purchase of properties by foreigners more flexible, as a way of attracting international investment.
Alignment with the United States and challenges in Congress and the Judiciary
In his speech to Congress, Milei defended the construction of a “lasting strategic alliance” with the United States, under the government of President Donald Trump, and stated that this partnership should become a State policy, based on “cultural affinity and common strategic objectives”.
The president also stated that he intends to advance new trade agreements, in addition to deepening existing negotiations with the European Union (EU), as part of the effort to insert Argentina more actively in global trade.
Parliamentarians from the Kirchnerist and Peronist opposition have already said that they must resist the advancement of Milei’s reforms in Congress. They were classified by the president in his speech as “dishonest adversaries”.
In addition to the resistance in the Legislature, this Monday’s judicial decision indicates that the libertarian government may face obstacles in the Judiciary, which tends to increase the challenges facing the Casa Rosada in approving and implementing the reform agenda.
