“Let us be a nightmare to those who want to steal our dreams.” The poster containing the warning phrase was in the hands of one man on the side of Plaza Congreso on Wednesday afternoon. If this note were a film, the camera would zoom out and show him standing in the middle of Rivadavia Street (in clear violation of Patricia Bullrich's protocol) with a few people around him, then smaller among thousands and finally as a dot. Surrounded by tens of thousands. This massive crowd, chanting “The country is not for sale,” became the worst nightmare of a government that needed the most destructive adjustment to popular income ever, and which tried not to provoke the expected reaction from its soon-to-be victims.
Efforts by relevant officials and media to limit the influence of the Popular Mobilization Forces were notable, however The storm that ended up burying the entire financial package for the omnibus law was caused by official discontent to force the “friendly opposition” to unite with the government, to oppose that image to that of a national strike. At first, they imagined getting a vote last Saturday, then they pressed to sign Bayad’s opinion, a maneuver that led to a major scandal when the irregularities that took place in his investigation were revealed.
In the midst of so much failure, official internal affairs broke out. Bullrich had to give up a bishop to the forces of Chief of Staff Nicolas Boss, precisely in a key area of the relationship with union leaders, and a minister who had been presented as essential a month earlier ended up being fired due to the president's leaks. Expressions that showed despair that lack of success is taking root in the heart of the government.
Miley offers
A day before the Segitista call, the president conducted a virtual interview for the YouTube channel of former CNN journalist Patricia Janniott, a fringe media outlet that unusually aired the recording two days later leading to involuntary comedic moves, such as Miley making predictions about a strike that became known after It happens. At all times he seemed annoyedMaybe because he was focused on the screen, but more likely because of the mobilization that was coming and the growing resistance from conservatives and representatives to his sweeping law.
The growing anger was reflected in their statements. There he accused opponents of being “corrupt and parasitic” who refused to vote on his closed book project. They assured that they would be condemned before society as defenders of decadence. Caputo concluded his speech in the best way before promising that “if they don't approve it, nothing will happen, and some reforms may come later.”
Kabuto offered
Once the personal intervention of his sister Karina Miley had convinced him that the main articles of the law would not be passed, the same minister who had threatened the governors with thunderbolts and lightning if they did not force their representatives to vote on the fiscal chapter of the Omnibus Act was forced by the president to be the sole face of the official setback on the matter.
Involuntarily? The comic confirmed that the heart of the project was to be withdrawn until the rest was approved. “We share a large part of the complaints and understand that the governors have fulfilled their mission in defending their districts,” he ended up overreacting.
Talking about bullshit is easy. What's more complicated is for anyone to believe them. In order to defend the financial core of the gigantic law, the government had actually sacrificed a significant part of its content, certainly without realizing that they were “the real foundations of future development,” as Caputo explained. Now he faces the enormous task of convincing the IMF and the financial world that the “zero deficit target is unchangeable.” In other words, the famous “financial anchor” remains in place.
Deep down they doubt
Some distrustful people might wonder why they tried to raise taxes by about two points of GDP if cutting spending by that amount was so easy to achieve.
The IMF had already expressed doubts about the political feasibility of the amendment that Miley gladly presented, and also demanded its approval by all political forces in Congress.. I do not pass. It is hard to believe that this jeopardizes approval of the exchange already agreed upon this week, but it would not be surprising if it ended up sowing clouds in future negotiations.
“The eyes of the world are on the country,” Caputo said in one of his few verifiable statements. The problem for Miley and her partners is what those eyes saw this week: a government that in just a month is already facing strong social resistance, and is unable even to form a bloc with its potential allies to ensure even a minimal ability to govern.
Variable faculties
“Who said all is lost?” Now officials are busy negotiating with the governors. Among many nightmares, They dream of at least approving the unprecedented delegated powers that drive comprehensive law With them, they advance further on the population to snatch from them the dream of a zero deficit without uncomfortable parliamentary borders. They would have to conquer Representative Hill, and once their flag was planted there, they would take control of the Senate.
PRO already offers collaboration. After all, Mauricio Macri is excited that this team is doing all the dirty work, and obviously ends up trapped and Miley has to turn to him again to save him. It is ambiguous to what extent “decent” radicals and Peronists will go to shape the gorilla they feel in their electorate.
But the official goal is not guaranteed. Governors don't want to appear to be “putting the spokes on the wheels” for a new presidency, but they also don't want to burn themselves out tied to a clearly incompetent administration. The emergence of social resistance on the scene also poses a challenge to them. Conflict can set the national government on fire, but it may also burn regional governments.
If the government finally achieves its goal, it will be necessary to see how far its imagination will go in achieving what it cannot achieve by law. Delegation of powers will certainly end with the judiciary Like everything that falls into the hands of judges, it will serve above all to increase the authority of the court.
Amid much political speculation, the inflation unleashed by the massive devaluation, which will combine new monthly contributions with successive tariff increases, is building a scenario in which the future of the government is truly at stake. “This party is defined on the street,” sums up the experienced suburban mayor. Small, peaceful and organized show. He was seen Wednesday around Congress. Another larger wave, perhaps less peaceful and far less organized, is appearing on the horizon of slums across the country a world away like the one March or April could bring.
