President plans to eliminate or change 300 regulations as part of economic ‘shock’ therapy.
Argentina’s right-wing president has announced sweeping measures to deregulate the economy, in what critics fear could threaten jobs and affordable housing for millions of Argentinians.
Javier Milei, who took office on December 10, said he was wiping out or amending some 300 regulations by emergency decree, changes he deemed necessary to help repair the country’s hamstrung economy.
The changes include dropping laws that regulate Argentina’s rental market and supermarket supplies. They also include removing restrictions on the privatisation of state enterprises.
“The goal is to start along the path to rebuilding the country … and start to undo the huge number of regulations that have held back and prevented economic growth,” Milei said in a televised address on Wednesday night.
The reforms build on austerity measures Milei unveiled last week, including devaluing Argentina’s currency by 54 percent and slashing state subsidies for fuel and transport starting next year.
The strategy is part of the economic “shock” therapy the president says is necessary to rebuild the economy, which is saddled with debt and suffering from 140 percent year-on-year inflation.
However, with 40 percent of Argentinians in poverty, he has warned conditions will worsen before they get better.
Protesters defy threats, police presence
Following the president’s speech, thousands of people took to the streets near the National Congress in Buenos Aires to voice their discontent after an earlier mass protest against austerity the same day, the AFP news agency reported.
“I am here because I am terrified by the decree,” said Nicolas Waiselbaum, a 48-year-old teacher.
Leopoldo Maldonado, a 25-year-old student, said, “The measures are very negative.”
“I’m especially worried about the rent law and the labour reform. It is already very complicated for young people to get a stable job,” he said.
Protesters light a flare during a demonstration against Milei’s government in front of the National Congress, Buenos Aires [Luis Robayo/AFP]
In a bid to stop protesters from blocking traffic earlier in the day, military police and security services lined the streets and photographed some demonstrators trying to reach the city centre. The government threatened to strip welfare from anyone blocking the streets.
Argentinian labour and rights groups criticised the heavy-handed security response as a provocation that threatens democratic freedoms.
“The government is violating the rights of protesters in Argentina,” Gabriel Solano of Argentina’s left-wing Workers’ Party told Al Jazeera. “They want to violate the judiciary and the legislative branch with a series of laws they want to pass. I am very worried about democratic freedoms in Argentina.”
“This reminds me of the dictatorship of 1976 to 1983,” said Eduardo Belliboni, leader of the left-wing movement Polo Obrero and one of the march’s organisers.
Legislative assessment
Milei’s sweeping deregulatory decrees must now be assessed by a joint committee of lawmakers from both chambers of the legislature within 10 days.
Constitutional law expert Emiliano Vitaliani said the decrees can only be undone if both the lower house and the Senate reject them.
Milei, a career academic who describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist, shocked the political establishment with his victory in the presidential election in November.
Disillusioned with decades of recurrent economic crises, marked by debt, rampant money printing, inflation and fiscal deficit, voters were receptive to his radical vision.
However, the burst of anger over his austerity plan shows he is bound to face challenges in his quest to slash the state budget.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
