Argentina’s Senate rejected President Javier Milei’s veto. to the law approved by the Parliament, which provides changes in the mechanism of transfer of funds from the State to the provinces, none of them governed by the ruling party.
The Upper House rejected the veto to the law that modifies the distribution scheme of the National Treasury Contribution Fund (ATN) for 59 votes in favor, 9 against and 3 abstentions.
The veto must now be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies And, if the law also achieves at least two thirds of the votes, it will then have to be promulgated by the Executive.
The rule, approved on August 21 in Parliament and vetoed on September 12 by decree, establishes that the National Treasury must distribute the ATNs between the provinces and the city of Buenos Aires automatically and not in a discretionary way.
The senator of the National and Popular Front for the province of La Pampa, Daniel Pablo Bensusán, said that “the account (of the government) of the fiscal balance is possible thanks to the funds of the ATN, which are from the provinces.”
“Who takes care of health, education and national security? The Argentine provinces, which are in fiscal asphyxiation. The savings was made with the silver of the provinces. ”Senator Alicia Kirchner, sister of the former president Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) said.
The conflict between the National Executive and the governors, who could impact on the national legislative elections of October 26, has as its background the severe tax adjustment that the Head of State launched after his assumption at the end of 2023.
As part of the Milei government adjustment plan, national treasure transfers to the provinces fell drastically, including the ATN turns, but also other items, a situation that has severely affected the provincial coffers.
The Senate’s decision occurs a day after the Chamber of Deputies rejected Milei’s vetoes to the laws of university and emergency in pediatric health, on a day marked by a massive demonstration against Congress to press for the reversal of the vetoes, which must now be treated in the Upper House.
Government defends itself
The Argentine government of Javier Milei defended himself yesterday after the rejection of the deputies of the opposition to the vetoes to the laws of university and emergency financing in pediatrics, and treated them as “’Kukas’ (by cockroaches) disguised as Republicans”.
“In the State Party you have the ‘Kukas’ and the ‘antikukas’ who vote just like the ‘Kukas’ but disguised as Republicans. Voting any of the versions of the State Party is to vote that your children leave for Ezeiza. We already live that. We already know how it ends,” said President Milei in his account of X after the rejection of the vetos.
The term ‘Kuka’ is used in Argentina in a derogatory way to refer to the supporters of Kirchnerism, political movement part of Peronism that was initiated by former presidents Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Fernández (2007-2015).
The presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, said that with the vote of the opposition in Congress “it was exposed, once again, the modus operandi of the caste and the obsession to destroy the economic plan that took millions of Argentines out of poverty,” during a press conference.
The official said that to comply with the University Financing Law, the Government should suspend all social plans for three months, energy subsidies for four months or increase VAT from 21 % to 44 % for 45 days.
