The government will have its budget, the first in several years, although it has to Swallow the toad of your own incompetence. The need to have this tool is a requirement for those who can become potential lenders or investors. American support has so far been the main factor in strengthening a government that just two months ago was sinking into quicksand and, in the desperation of the bullfight, would have even considered returning to the exchange rate trap to try to stop the bleeding.
The fact that Trump claimed victory in October is an exaggeration for the tycoon, who is always attuned to excess and outrageous personalism. Javier Milei had also counted on the help of the frayed electoral offering of a Peronism in apparent decline.
The country turned like an average, but the government he hasn’t learned his lesson. He believed that everything would be solved, as the Home Secretary claimed, with “lollipops” to governors and other sectors, rather than permanent muscle building through simple means. The mistakes made in this process of budget debate have to do with the arrogance of “let’s do everything” in the libertarian version; the disregard for the abilities of other political actors; And the belief that nothing lies ahead.
It is unknown whether this is due to strategy or a lack of vision. Milei still chooses to be the first minority to become the majority and push reforms much faster. The difference is not small, because if he were to choose the second path, he would have to institutionalize a more serious and professional coalition. That would mean making bigger commitments to its potential allies and not offering a fair deal on every important vote.
Such is the sequence of good news – falling unemployment, surplus exports, a harvest that looks set to be exceptional next year – They ended in another defeat in Congress. It is clear that politics is not a science for improvisers. This will have been learned by both the Menem – Lule and Martín – and Santiago Caputo, who are at odds but share responsibility for the stumble in this crucial situation, which has also seriously damaged the bond with allies such as the PRO. Luis Caputo, who rushed in with the rejected package, was also part of the chaos.
Mauricio Macri’s anger in Cumelén, where he is on vacation, has surpassed other records: the “betrayal” heard in these quiet environments. If there was anyone in the nation’s auditor general who was assured, it was Jorge Triaca, nominated by Macri. This can no longer be the case. Was another slap in the face for the former presidentanother clumsy mistreatment that can only indicate deep resentment on the part of the person who encouraged it. Subsequent gestures of “friendship” sounded more like a mockery than an apology.
Now the admission that they will have to approve the budget in the form presented by the MPs, without the chapter on financing the disabled and national universities, does not mean that they will not do so trying to convert this complete defeat into partial victories.
Here, at the low political level shown, Patricia Bullrich’s experience can make a difference. So it is possible that many of the questions rejected in the famous Chapter XI, which failed on Thursday, suddenly appear in the form of articles in the Senateparticularly those relating to debts to electricity companies. The key could be adding debt from domestic cooperatives to oil provincial elections. In this case, the project must be returned to the deputies. The former security minister shows that she is in the Senate make your presence felt and try to come to terms with things. Bullrich wants to continue to be present on the political front, because if he runs for the presidency in the first round of 2023, Nothing says that this ambition has disappeared.
Manuel Adorni, the chief of staff, will also be able to participate in the allocation of budget items due to the discretion granted to him by law. So the last word has not yet been spoken. Are you encouraged to withdraw funds from disabled people and universities? Is the contempt for imperfection heard from some informal libertarian speakers part of the “culture war”?
There will also be delays in the other project, the labor reform, due to the expedited procedure that has been introduced confuses speed with efficiency.
The CGT carried out a symbolic mobilization, almost without hope. When Unionism was in political control – during the long Kirchner period and under the presidency of Alberto Fernández – it had the opportunity to consider more modern legislation. They wasted it because there was no strategic thinking. Now, in weakness, the resources to debate reform depend more on the mistakes of others than on our own capabilities.
The world is changing at such a rapid pace that unions need to be at the forefront of these changes if they do not want to lose more and more influence fall into insignificance.
At another level, the reconfiguration of regional strategic alliances with the emergence of actors with similar – although not the same – thoughts as those of Milei, They expand Trump’s influence.
The elected President of Chile, José Kast, gave a privileged place to relations with Argentina on his first trip abroad. And he left a message for Milei: It will act very forcefully against illegal migration in Chile, and Argentina must work together by tightening its border policies to prevent it from becoming a “sanctuary” for displaced trans-Andean people.
About The Author
