March 7th, 2025
1. President Milei opens 143rd Ordinary Sessions
In his speech at the opening of the 143rd ordinary sessions, President Javier Milei presented the progress made by his government and requested the support of Congress for an agreement with the IMF, with the purpose of cleaning up the Central Bank’s balance sheet and eliminating the exchange rate ceiling. He also announced that they are working on a dozen bills, including labor, tax, criminal, immigration and other reforms. He also emphasized the recovery of equality before the law and the elimination of quota systems. He criticized politics and the “caste,” highlighting achievements of his administration such as lower inflation, fiscal balance and privatization of public companies. The speech took place before a half-empty Congress, with the notorious absence of the opposition, while members of the Executive, judges of the Supreme Court and some governors attended.
El Cronista: Javier Milei inauguró las sesiones ordinarias del Congreso y delineó sus objetivos 2025
2. Government prepares to submit new agreement with the IMF
Javier Milei’s government is fine-tuning the last details to send “in the next few days” – as anticipated by the President last Saturday – the new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Congress. “We are finalizing legal details,” the government confirmed. The government also confirmed that what will be sent to the Parliament to be debated by the legislators will be the authorization to negotiate a new program with the Fund and not a staff-level agreement (the agreement with the technical details). In this context, the IMF decided to replace the head of its permanent office in the country. As confirmed by the organization’s headquarters in Washington, Max Alier was appointed as permanent representative in Buenos Aires, replacing Ben Kelmanson, who completed his time at this office and will continue his career within the organization’s staff.
La Nación: Ultiman detalles para enviar el acuerdo con el Fondo al Congreso, pero sin la letra chica
3. Inflated-adjusted revenue grew by 12% in February
The Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA) reported this Wednesday that tax revenue in February grew by 12 percentage points in real terms, resulting in the National State collecting $13.5 trillion with a nominal increase of 86.5%, higher than the period’s inflation, estimated at 67%. This figure was achieved despite the reduction in withholdings and the elimination of the PAIS Tax. According to the Argentine Institute for Fiscal Analysis (IARAF), “excluding revenue from taxes related to foreign trade, the real year-on-year variation would be positive by 21.6%.” “Analyzing by tax, the only revenue that would fall without considering the elimination of the PAIS Tax would be that of Personal Assets, which would have done so by a real 47% year-on-year,” states the analysis carried out by the entity directed by economist Nadin Argañaraz.
Ámbito: La recaudación creció un 12% real en febrero, pese a la reducción de las retenciones
4. Supreme Court rejects Ariel Lijo’s leave request to assume position as judge
Ariel Lijo was appointed by decree as President of the Supreme Court by President Javier Milei. However, the court rejected the leave request he had made from Federal Court Number 4, where he is currently serving as a judge. This decision was made by judges Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Manuel García-Mansilla, who was appointed by decree along with Lijo and sworn in as a member of the Court last week, although Ricardo Lorenzetti did support his leave request.
5. Milei demands Congress lower the age of criminal responsibility
Following the shock caused by the murder of a girl, Kim Gómez, by underage criminals in the city of La Plata, the ruling party will convene a plenary session of committees in the Chamber of Deputies next Wednesday to accelerate the debate on a new juvenile criminal system. The intention is to reduce the age of criminal responsibility, although the issue is so complex that, for now, there is no agreement on a common text. For its part, the government seeks to reduce the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years. “The modification of the juvenile criminal system is much more than changing the age of criminal responsibility,” clarifies the president of the Criminal Legislation Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Laura Rodríguez Machado (PRO), who demanded that the law be accelerated so that “those who commit adult crimes pay the consequences of their actions as adults.”