The Government faces, fragmented and with the heads of the Executive out of the country, the opposition's attack on DNU 70/2023, unleashed by the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Land Law.
A priori, the damage control strategy was left in the hands of the Menem cousins, who coordinate with Karina Milei during her stay in France. But the moves are still up in the air and have not been executed, pending the return of "the Boss" and in a context of constant crossfire with Patricia Bullrich and differences with the sector led by Santiago Caputo.
Yesterday, while the hard-line opposition members of Unión por la Patria, the Civic Coalition, the Left Front, and sectors of Provincias Unidas were seeking the votes to convene a special session against the Government's most important decree, in the Chamber of Deputies bloc controlled by the Menems, word spread that they were considering reintroducing into the Private Property Inviolability Law (which passed in the Senate with changes and still awaits debate in the Chamber of Deputies) some kind of restriction ("minimal," they clarified) on land purchases. The goal, they said, is to "deactivate" the consideration (and possible downfall) of the deregulation DNU.
At first, they celebrated having beaten Bullrich to the punch in the reaction. "It must be the first time," they said. They had not noticed that the senator had already —once again— lashed out at Federico Sturzenegger for having included the land chapter in the draft of the…
AI Brief
Your highlights
President Javier Milei, together with Karina Milei, Pablo Quirno, Luis Caputo and Sandra Pettovello at Congress (Photo: REUTERS/Mariana Nedelcu)The government faces, fragmented and with the heads of the Executive Branch out of the country, the opposition's attack on DNU 70/2023, triggered by the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Land Law. On the face of it, the damage-control strategy was left in the hands of the Menem cousins, who coordinate with Karina Milei during her stay in France. But the moves are still up in the air and have not been executed, pending the return of "the Boss" and in a context of constant crossfire with Patricia Bullrich and differences with the faction led by Santiago Caputo. Yesterday, while the hard-line opposition members of Unión por la Patria, the Civic Coalition, the Left Front and sectors of Provincias Unidas were seeking votes to convene a special session against the government's most important decree, in the Chamber of Deputies bloc controlled by the Menems word spread that they were considering reintroducing into the Inviolability of Private Property Law (which passed in the Senate with changes and still awaits debate in the Chamber of Deputies) some kind of ("minimal," they clarified) restriction on land purchases. The goal, they said, is to "defuse" the treatment (and possible defeat) of the deregulation DNU. A month ago, a march was held against the changes to the Land Law (Photo: Gaston Taylor)At first, they celebrated having beaten Bullrich to the punch in the reaction. "It must be the first time," they said. They had not noticed that the senator had already — once again — lashed out at Federico Sturzenegger for having included the land chapter in the Inviolability of Private Property bill (the one they had to withdraw to keep the whole package of measures from collapsing). "We should have waited for the courts to rule as they just did on decree 70 regarding the land chapter, and only then send that bill, because otherwise we are going against our own actions," La Nación quoted her as saying during an event marking the 30th anniversary of the Buenos Aires City Constitution. The ruling party's counteroffer was made without much internal consensus among the other political wings of the government. Though muted, the clash between the Menems and the Caputos remains latent. And the ruling party is coming off last week's dispute between those in charge of politics and Economy over the cut to the Disability area of the Budget. Santiago Caputo seeks to avoid a repeat of the conflicts, focuses on the Malvinas issue, which his circle highlights as his own, and stays away from other issues that cause friction. But there are nuances. Karina Milei, Patricia Bullrich and Martín Menem at a meeting with libertarian senatorsIn Karina's circle, hope rests on the allies feeling incentivized to formalize a 15% cap on land sales rather than pushing for a total repeal of the DNU. But the pressure is strong, others point out: the two CTA federations called for a mobilization on Tuesday, October 6, at 3 p.m., in front of the Supreme Court. The CGT condemned the ruling and demanded that the Chamber of Deputies reject the decree. And it is only the beginning. At the Casa Rosada they anticipate a new wave of social discontent. Beyond the legislative proposals, the government's great internal mea culpa regarding the Land Law a few weeks ago was over the narrative approach taken. And in every office they ended up admitting that the ruling party lost the debate in public opinion: even Tini Stoessel turned against it. Added to this is concern over social tension, linked to the latest economic indicators, and an opposition that, facing a government weakened by the drop in economic activity and the rise in poverty, is becoming more hostile in Congress. Faced with an increasingly complicated context, they remain determined to prevent Bullrich's power from growing internally within LLA: they will not give her the place she demands above the political table, where Karina and the Menems decide. It was enough to include her in the Tuesday meetings, they say at Balcarce 50. Electoral matters and other key decisions will be made independently of what she thinks, and she will be informed once they are settled.