May 24th, 2024
1. May Pact falls through and bills remain unapproved in the Senate
The National Government did not obtain approval of the bills of the Law of Bases and Points of Departure for the Freedom of the Argentines (“Ley Bases”) and the Fiscal Reform Bill, which were scheduled to be approved before May 25. Because it did not want to risk not getting the necessary votes to pass it, the Senate did not move forward with the vote this week. Although work was done to generate alliances that could ensure the votes, through conversations with the dialogist blocks in Congress and negotiations with governors of different provinces of the country, the expected agreement was not reached. As they did not meet the purpose of approving them, the President’s Office confirmed that on the occasion of the May Revolution Day (May 25) a ceremony will be held in the City of Córdoba, but there will be no signing of the May Pact with the governors, as initially planned. At the same time, in an interview with LN+, he mentioned that according to the outcome of the approval process of the bills that are still awaiting approval in the Senate, the permanence or incorporation of certain Cabinet figures will be analyzed. “The whole Cabinet is under analysis… after the law of bases, it will be evaluated who continues and who does not.”
El Cronista: Javier Milei no confirmó a Nicolás Posse y anunció que Federico Sturzenegger será ministro
2. Minister of Economy speaks at AIEF congress
Minister of Economy Luis Caputo gave a speech during the 41st Annual Congress of the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives (IAEF), where he highlighted the reforms that the National Government is carrying out to order the economy and lower inflation. Regarding the inflation slowdown registered by INDEC in April, Caputo explained that “the 8.8% confirms that we are on the right path… The objective is to smash inflation. Confirming that the results validate what we are doing is necessary because we have to continue gaining credibility.” In the same line, the Minister anticipated that the public accounts will also record a financial surplus in May. In addition, Caputo referred to the tariff values and stated that “we are doing well from the fiscal point of view and we could afford to give a break to the middle class and, besides, contribute to the disinflation process.” With respect to exchange restrictions, the Minister of Economy highlighted the measures implemented to increase the Central Bank’s reserves, stating that “a phenomenal job has been done in this sense.” “We are closer to freeing the cepo, but we are not 100% ready yet,” he added. Finally, Caputo indicated that they are working with the IMF for a new disbursement and highlighted the return of mortgage loans.
3. President Javier Milei presented his book at Luna Park
President Javier Milei presented his book “Capitalism, Socialism and the Neoclassical Trap” at an event at the Luna Park stadium. During the presentation, he called his followers to “fight for the ideas of freedom.” During the two-hour meeting, he explained the chapters that make up the book and the references used from different authors. The current situation of the country was not mentioned and there was only an allusion to the discussion for the Law of Bases that is taking place in Congress. “We are fighting for it,” he pointed out. The show with party rally aesthetics started with the President bursting onto the stage and singing along with the “Liberal Band” formed by the National Deputy, Berti Benegas Lynch, on drums, his son on guitar and Marcelo Duclós, Milei’s biographer, on bass. “It is important to fight the cultural battle and that is why it is necessary to get into the mud of politics,” stressed the head of state. Milei called on his followers to give that fight “in the classrooms, in politics and everywhere because if not the lefties are going to take us away.”
Infobae: En el Luna Park, Javier Milei presentó su libro, criticó al kirchnerismo y brindó un show musical
4. Confrontation between President Milei and Pedro Sánchez
During his presentation at the Europa Viva 24 summit held in Madrid over the weekend, President Javier Milei took aim at his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, and ironically referred to the scandal of influence peddling and corruption in private business involving the first lady, Begoña Gómez. While speaking about what he considers to be the tasks of the State and the danger of socialism, he charged: “The global elites do not realize how destructive it can be to implement the ideas of socialism because they have it too far away: they do not know what kind of society and country they can produce, what kind of people screwed to power there are and what levels of abuse it can generate. If he has a corrupt wife, it gets dirty, and he takes five days to think about it.” In this way, he made reference to the declarations of Sanchez, who had announced the cancellation of her public agenda for a few days to “reflect” on whether or not she should resign, a decision that she finally discarded. After the remarks, the Spanish Ambassador in Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso Jiménez, left the Spanish Embassy in Argentina, returning to Madrid.
La Nación: Qué dijo Javier Milei en España que desató un conflicto con el gobierno de Pedro Sánchez
5. The blue dollar increases
After five months of certain exchange rate stability, the blue dollar quotation increased and reached AR$1,280. In the last 10 days, the value of the US dollar in the illegal market rose AR$225 and increased the gap with the official one, which is sold at AR$908, to 39.79%. This increase coincides with the lower interest rate that the Central Bank set at 40% per annum last Tuesday and with a lower supply of dollars for exports, according to unofficial sources. On the other hand, financial dollars also rose this Wednesday. The MEP closed at AR$1189.83 and the Contado con Liquidación at AR$1,210.51.
La Nación: Hasta dónde subirá el dólar y los peligros que acechan al gobierno de Milei