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ARGENTINA | 08-01-2024 13:09

'Useful idiots' – Javier Milei lashes out reform critics

President Javier Milei has branded his opponents "useful idiots" for their criticism of his sweeping decree that amends more than 300 laws and regulations.

President Javier Milei has branded his opponents "useful idiots" for their criticism of his sweeping decree that amends more than 300 laws and regulations.

"They complain, they attack it as unconstitutional when it is within the [rules of the] Constitution. And if not, there are others, [those] who are the useful idiots, who focus on the forms, when it is part of the dynamic," Milei said in a radio interview.

Milei’s decree has been criticised by his rivals as unconstitutional. It is accompanied by a huge ‘Omnibus Law’ bill, which consists of more than 664 articles with reforms in labour, commercial, industrial, tax, financial, energy and environmental matters.

A number of legal challenges have been filed against Milei’s decree and its proposed reforms on labour have been suspended temporarily by an appeals court following an appeal from top union groupings.

"Let it be clear that it is now their responsibility [national deputies and senators], I did what I had to do," said President Milei in the interview.

Both the decree and the bill are currently being debated in Congress. The decree must be approved or rejected in its entirety – no alterations can be made to it – though the bill can be modified. 

"I am confident that the law will be passed. We will not negotiate anything, but we will accept suggestions for improvement," declared Milei, who also addressed other topics during the interview.

The president, looking ahead to the upcoming publishing of Argentina’s December inflation figure this Thursday, said he would be happy if the government’s index show price rises of 30 percent last month.

“If December's inflation is 30 percent, it's a great number, because we were expecting 45 percent,” said Milei.

The president was speaking after his return from Antarctica, where he visited Argentina’s Marambio and Esperanza bases.

 

– TIMES/AFP
 

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