After a tense day, the Senate approves Milei’s first package and the market celebrates

After hours of tension between police officers and protesters in front of the National Congress, senators approved the first package of measures by Javier Milei, who took office six months ago in the Casa Rosada. The vote was tied and the decisive vote was given by the country’s vice president and president of the Senate, Victoria Villarruel, from Milei’s party, A Liberdade Avança (LLA).

Thirty-three people were arrested and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said the protest – which later in the day included burned vehicles – was, in her view, “a modern-day coup d’état”.

The government does not have a majority in Congress. And in the Senate its own votes are limited to seven, while Kirchnerism has 33 votes. The government, this Thursday, celebrated the result, even though it was tight and after several measures from the original project were eliminated at the last moment on Wednesday for the text to be approved.

The government has given up – for now – on the privatizations of the airline Aerolíneas Argentinas and public media outlets.

The text still depends on the approval of the Chamber of Deputies, where it will be sent back because it has undergone changes, but the financial market is celebrating, this Thursday, with the fall in the country risk rate, the dollar’s decline in parallel and the rise in Argentine bonds. in the financial market. The interpretation of Argentine analysts, whether sympathetic to the Milei government or not, is that without Senate approval, governability could have been at risk.

The government also celebrates that China has announced the renewal of the financial swap with the country. Milei announced that she will travel to the Asian country – despite her having said in the campaign that she would not negotiate with ‘communist countries’. This week, for the first time, he and President Lula will be in the same physical space, during the G7 Summit in Italy.

Sources in Brasília find it “difficult” for them to have a bilateral meeting. In Planalto, they are still choking on Milei’s accusations against Lula during the presidential campaign. Brazil and China are Argentina’s main trading partners.