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Argentina’s Congress on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to restrict President Javier Milei’s ability to govern by decree — the latest in a string of setbacks for the right-wing leader.
Milei, whose party is in a minority in parliament, has issued more than 70 decrees since taking office in December 2023 to push through his austerity agenda.
The lower house Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to a bill regulating presidential decrees by 140 votes in favor to 80 against and 17 abstentions.
The bill, which had already been approved by the Senate, stipulates that a decree can be overturned by a single house of parliament.
Previously, a majority of both houses of parliament was required to reject a presidential order.
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The bill now goes back to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved.
The vote deals a new blow to 54-year-old Milei, who is reeling from scandals within his party, a run on the peso that forced him to ask Washington for a financial rescue last month, and three earlier Congressional votes overturning some of his spending vetoes.
Milei, who won the presidency by campaigning as an outsider, has denounced Congress as a “nest of rats” and its members as a “political caste.”
On Monday, he tried to revive the rockstar persona that helped him get elected by headlining a concert to mark the release of his latest book touting what he claims as his economic “miracle.”
But he is looking increasingly vulnerable as he faces midterm elections on October 26, in which half of the Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the Senate will be elected.
Last month, his La Libertad Avanza party was trounced by the center-left in Buenos Aires provincial polls seen as a bellwether of his support.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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