Lawmakers in Congress this week dealt President Javier Milei a triple blow, with both chambers voting to strike down his vetoes of bills previously approved by Congress.
On Thursday, the Senate rejected a presidential veto of a bill defining the automatic distribution of ATN national Treasury contributions by an overwhelming opposition-led majority.
That came less than 24 hours after the Milei administration saw two other vetoes rejected in the lower house Chamber of Deputies.
Thursday’s ATN vote was 59 in favour, nine against and three abstentions – a larger margin than when it gained preliminary approval on July 10, with 56 votes in favour.
The veto was supported only by the La Libertad Avanza caucus and PRO senators Luis Juez, Carmen Álvarez Rivero and Francisco Paoltroni.
Abstentions came from Mariana Juri and Rodolfo Suárez, the two Radical senators who answer to Mendoza Province Governor Alfredo Cornejo. The other came from Entre Ríos senator and head of the PRO caucus, Alfredo De Angeli.
ATN funding, or Aportes del Tesoro Nacional, are special, non-automatic discretionary funds, created to assist provinces facing fiscal imbalances or emergency situations.
The opposition says the new bill, which was pushed by governors, ensures resources are allocated in a direct, transparent, equitable and predictable manner, avoiding the discretionary element that has historically marked their distribution.
After breaking with governors at the end of June and this month’s electoral defeat in Buenos Aires Province, the government has sought to rebuild bridges with provincial leaders in recent days.
But the die had already been cast in the upper house.
The lower house is normally less hostile territory for Milei, even though he has suffered defeats in the chamber – including two key ones this week.
Paediatric emergency, state universities
The ATN vote came less than 24 hours after the ruling party saw lawmakers in the lower house reject vetoes of bills that will boost funding for paediatric care and state universities.
As the Casa Rosada had feared, the opposition secured the required two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies in both of those cases. It marks the government’s first major parliamentary defeat since its electoral loss in Buenos Aires Province earlier this month.
The measures now head to the Senate for final approval. The upper house had yet to vote at press time, though the chamber has previously signed off on both bills by large majorities.
The first vote concerned the declaration of a paediatric emergency in Argentina, focusing mainly on conditions facing staff at the prestigious Garrahan Children’s Hospital. Workers at the institution have walked off the job on repeated occasions in protest at working conditions and low pay.
Milei’s veto of the bill was rejected by 181 votes to 60, comfortably reaching the required majority.
Minutes later, deputies turned their attention to the National Universities Funding Law. A slightly lower margin, 174, voted to overturn the veto with 67 opposed.
As the vote concluded at the end of a tense session, opposition lawmakers rose from their seats and broke into chants in defence of state higher education.
Government sources said they expected a defeat, but not to the extent suffered.
Both measures will again need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to secure their passage into law.
The string of legislative defeats hits the ruling party at the worst possible time – in the midst of a key election campaign. With the October 26 midterm elections looming, Milei tried to project strength with a nationally televised speech last Monday, presenting his 2026 Budget bill under the slogan “zero deficit.”
However, the political cost has been evident: each vote in Congress reflects the growing isolation of La Libertad Avanza. Parliamentary weakness is conditioning every step the Executive branch takes.
‘Demagoguery’
The Milei administration has reacted strongly to the string of congressional defeats. During a press conference on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni called for fiscal responsibility and accused Congress of “demagoguery.”
“It seems that the efforts made by the people to maintain fiscal balance and, of course, to set Argentina on a different path, a path of growth and a future, do not matter,” complained Milei’s top spokesperson.
The official took aim at the opposition: “Once again, the modus operandi of the caste has been exposed: zero interest in fiscal balance, obsession with destroying the economic plan that lifted millions of Argentines out of poverty and is destroying inflation month after month.”
Adorni also referred to Wednesday’s Marcha Federal protest: “Yesterday’s march brought together all, absolutely all, the enemies of progress: the CGT, the CTA, ATE [unions], [Axel] Kicillof, the left, Kirchnerites disguised as other political parties and even Palestinian flag-bearers.”
Milei’s run of defeats in Congress comes after a brutal week on the markets. Argentina’s dollar bonds posted some of the worst losses in emerging markets this week, putting them on track for the longest weekly rout since April as pressure on Milei’s government continues to build.
Investors had hoped midterm elections next month would boost Milei’s support in Congress enough to push his economic reform agenda forward. But with his disapproval ratings on the rise, the economy contracting and a string of political setbacks – from corruption scandals to pushback from lawmakers — traders began ditching the country’s assets.
Milei’s administration was forced to intervene in the currency markets this week as the peso weakened against the dollar, surpassing the limits of a band imposed to limit the weakening of the national currency,
– TIMES/NA/BLOOMBERG
