August 30th, 2024
1. La Libertad Avanza faces internal conflicts in Congress
During the last few days, the ruling party has faced several internal conflicts in Congress which resulted in the expulsion of deputies and senators from its bloc. The bloc of legislators of La Libertad Avanza sent a letter to Victoria Villarruel, president of the Senate, to request the expulsion of Senator Francisco Paoltroni. However, the vice-president requested that the letter be sent again and correctly formulated, since the blocs are autonomous and they are the ones who decide their conformation, and neither the expulsion nor the integration of members to the blocs is included among their functions. The technical excuse makes political sense within the framework of the internal conflict between Villarruel and Javier Milei, since the expulsion of the senator, who is very close to the Vice-President, is promoted by the Casa Rosada, which does not forgive his opposition to the nomination of Ariel Lijo for the Supreme Court. A similar event took place in the Chamber of Deputies, where the ruling party requested the resignation of Deputy Lourdes Arrieta. The former legislator resigned minutes before her expulsion was formalized as a result of her visit to those convicted of crimes against humanity in prison.
2. The government announces the lowering of the PAIS tax rate to 7.5%
With the intention of reducing the tax burden and taking another step in the fight against inflation, the government announced that it will reduce the PAIS tax starting next Monday. Official and private sources had confirmed that the department headed by Luis Caputo would announce in the next few days that the tax – created by Martin Guzman, extended by Sergio Massa and increased by the current administration – would return to the levels prior to December 10. This implies that it will go from 17.5% (the level to which Caputo raised it) back to 7.5% for all goods and services. As the news spread, Caputo had to confirm it. “Important! As from Monday, September 2, the Country Tax rate for the import of goods and freight will go back from 17.5% to 7.5%. We promised and we delivered!”, he wrote on X. Official sources also indicated that they believe there will be a direct impact on prices. “The more importing in the chain, the lower [the price],” explained the government.
La Nación: Desde el lunes que viene bajará el impuesto PAIS, pero no se toca el dólar tarjeta
3. Javier Milei had dinner with Mauricio Macri at the Quinta de Olivos
Last Tuesday, August 27, the President received Mauricio Macri at the Quinta de Olivos. The meeting followed tensions in Congress due to the votes of the PRO, which were key for the approval of the increase for retirees which was resisted by the government. Hours before the meeting, Deputy Cristian Ritondo had filed a request for reports before the Bicameral Commission of Intelligence so that the SIDE would answer with what purpose a proxy of the head of that intelligence agency, Sergio Neiffert, had appeared before the Justice to access information on the case of illegal espionage involving officials of Macri’s government. The last meeting between the two had taken place after the rejection of the DNU on the SIDE expenses and one day before the retirement pensions were discussed. Then, despite the fact that his senators were ordered to vote against the government’s decision, Macri came out to support Milei’s veto. “If I take his tweet, it means that he does not manage the troop. It is not my problem, it has to be solved inside Juntos por el Cambio,” said Milei in radio statements.
La Nación: Javier Milei y Mauricio Macri se vuelven a reunir esta noche en la quinta de Olivos
4. Dr. García Mansilla defends his candidacy to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation
After Federal Judge Ariel Lijo passed through the Senate Agreements Committee, chaired by the National Senator for CABA Guadalupe Tagliaferri (PRO), the second candidate to occupy a seat in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Manuel José García Mansilla, defended his nomination. “It is the Congress that has the power to decide whether or not the dollarization should take place,” he stated. Among other issues, the lawyer referred to abortion, climate change, RIGI and the Hydrocarbons Law. Unlike the hearing in which the federal judge, Ariel Lijo – the other candidate of the Executive Power to integrate the Court – appeared, the main objections to García-Mansilla were made by Kirchnerism senators. In fact, Oscar Parrilli (Union for the Fatherland), from Río Negro, accused him of having a “marked anti-Peronist and liberal bias.” “You are not an independent judge, you are a judge who comes to defend a political sector, which is the macrismo, so that it has an automatic majority in the Court,” Parrilli blamed the nominee. In addition, he asked him to comment on the possibility of excusing himself in case he has to review the file of some of the oil companies for which he worked.
5. Increase in electricity and water rates
The Argentine government will increase gas and electricity rates in September by an average of 4% in household, industrial and commercial bills. This adjustment is part of an effort to reduce subsidies and balance relative prices, in a context of deceleration of inflation after the reduction of the PAIS tax. The increase will especially affect users in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). In addition, an adjustment of 4.48% is expected in the services of Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos (AySA). Likewise, users may also be affected by the removal of bus subsidies in the City and Province of Buenos Aires and the increase in fuels, which will rise by 2.5% on average throughout the country due to a new deferral of the tax on liquid fuels
Infobae: El Gobierno volverá a aumentar en septiembre las tarifas de gas y electricidad