LThe equation seemed impossible. Opponents and analysts predicted political paralysis or, conversely, an immediate authoritarian drift. The ultraliberal Javier Milei came to power in Argentina in December 2023 without any guarantee of being able to govern. Only 38 deputies belong to the presidential coalition out of 257 – the third group in the Lower House – and only 7 senators out of 72. The great weakness of the presidential group in Parliament is the manifestation of the dazzling career of Javier Milei, an outsider. He has no relay either among the provincial governors (24 in this federal country), nor in the municipalities.
However, Javier Milei manages to apply the main lines of his program, in relying on institutional mechanisms. Thus, as soon as he came to power, he announced a “megadecree” presidential election aimed at deregulating the economy. If it was rejected by the Senate three months later – which the law allows – and is subject to various appeals for unconstitutionality, it remains in force, having not been discussed in the Lower House.
Above all, against all expectations, the executive managed, in June, to have Parliament approve a law which allows the president to govern for one year without going through Congress in administrative, economic and energy matters. In September and October, Javier Milei pocketed two other legislative victories: the validation of his vetoes to catch up on pensions and the university budget.
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To this end, he is counting on a great ally of circumstance: the political coalition PRO (Propuesta republicana), of former president Mauricio Macri (right, in power from 2015 to 2019). Part of the center and center right also votes in favor of ultraliberal reforms. Elected officials that Javier Milei had treated as“useless” and“scammers” during the presidential campaign.
For them, Milei represents the opportunity to administer shock therapy, a financial orthodoxy to which they adhere ideologically, without really getting their hands dirty. Secondary characters, they do not immediately give their support, sometimes allowing themselves to be convinced at the last moment, taking care to leave center stage to the libertarians. The latter will thus assume the unpopularity of the bitter potion administered to the population.
Skillful negotiations
Javier Milei’s parliamentary allies are sometimes much more surprising: Peronists (a motley movement, from left to center, currently suffering from a lack of leadership), yet sworn enemies of the president. Deputies who can obey the voting instructions of a governor who is himself a Peronist, as in the case of Tucuman (north). “The provinces, especially those in the north, depend enormously on the funds paid to them by the central authorities. This is a vote linked to the promise of future means”analyzes Lucas Romero, political scientist and director of the consulting firm Synopsis. Provinces which may also be seduced by the possible economic fallout from Javier Milei’s deregulatory policies.
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