MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei vetoes pensions increase but faces Congress' reprisal

Milei cited the Senate's Rulebook requirement that every bill includes in its foundations its source of financing

Argentine President Javier Milei vetoed in its entirety Bill 27.756 providing for an increase in the wages of senior citizens and pensioners. The measure became effective after appearing in Monday's issue of the Official Gazette.

The Executive argued that “the bill sanctioned by Congress is manifestly in violation of the legal framework in force, inasmuch as it does not contemplate the fiscal impact of the measure nor does it determine the source of its financing.”

Milei also highlighted that Article 126 of the Senate's Rulebook specified that “every project that involves expenses shall include in its foundations the estimate of such disbursements and shall indicate the source of financing. If this is not the case, it will not be discussed in the sessions until the omission is corrected.”

Congress “must act with institutional reasonableness in a responsible manner taking care not to issue provisions whose application is inconvenient for the public accounts, or that contradict the projection of income and distribution of expenses foreseen in the National Budget,” the norm also states.

In this scenario, the opposition has pledged to insist on having it approved by garnering the two-thirds of the votes needed to override a presidential veto. Milei's ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) would need support from other political forces to survive that challenge.

Sources in Parliament believe LLA would reach 77 votes, or 82 at the most. Rogue Congresswoman Lourdes Arrieta's position remains a mystery in a context where each vote counts.

At any rate, Unión por la Patria Deputy Germán Martínez admitted that “we are close” to repeating the Lower House and Congressman Ricardo López Murphy foresaw that ”the presidential decision” would be reversed.