Argentine Government to Send 'May Pact' Initiatives to Congress

Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni stated on Monday that of the 10 points proposed in the 'May Pact,' 8 were discussed within the framework of the May Council. He clarified that 'federal co-participation requires the presence of all governors' and 'foreseeable reform requires prior modifications to the labor scheme.' As anticipated by the Argentine News Agency, the Executive Branch will send the initiatives to Congress for extraordinary sessions, while others will be forwarded 'during the 2026 legislative period.' Adorni made this announcement at a press conference from the Government House, noting that these bills 'will lead to a future of freedom and prosperity, which is, in essence, the only reason we are here and the only reason we came to govern Argentina.' Adorni highlighted that throughout the semester, '6 full meetings' were held with 'perfect attendance' from all its members, except for Tuesday's session, during which the head of the UOCRA, Gerardo Martínez, was absent, as the official stated, due to returning on a flight from Washington. The coordinating minister also reiterated that the May Council is 'consultative and non-binding,' although most of the bills will be sent to Congress. Regarding the first point, 'inviolability of private property,' Adorni stated that it was decided that 'regarding rural lands, the purchase by foreign private individuals is liberalized' and affirmed that 'the prohibition of changing the productive activity of the field for 30 to 60 years after a fire is also eliminated, a law by Deputy Máximo Kirchner that directly attacks production.' He also detailed that regarding 'the institutional reinforcement of the national state for fiscal balance,' the Council 'proposes to the President and governors to publicly reinforce the commitment not to request authorization for borrowing if a province has a primary deficit, except, of course, for debt roll-overs or a credit risk higher than that of the Nation.' He also noted that 'regarding educational reform, the idea is to grant greater autonomy to the provinces and, within them, to each institution.' Thus, he said, 'the State sets minimum common contents, but each school will have the possibility to design its curriculum and parents will regain an active role in the educational project of their children.' There will also be an update to the Forestry Law, modification of the Aquaculture Law, and the proposal to eliminate provincial purchase laws and local labor caps,' he added. And he stated that 'on a subject about which the Council wants to warn, given the boom in mining, it is imperative that the factor market integrates throughout the country as a single market and not by setting caps that only complicate the activity.' Regarding the 'modernization' promoted by the Government, Adorni anticipated that the 'definitive project,' not yet disclosed, 'what stands out the most is ultra-activity, precedence of agreements, labor fiscal burden; issues for self-employed workers, that is, platform workers, and in fact, this is a project promoted by Deputy (from PRO, Christian) Ritondo, in addition to the elimination of remote work,' promoted during the pandemic and which, he said, 'did not have the desired effect.' The May Council was composed of the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger, representing the Executive Branch; the Governor of Mendoza, Alfredo Cornejo, for the provinces; Senator Carolina Losada (UCR) and Deputy Ritondo (PRO), for both chambers; Gerardo Martínez, for the CGT, and the president of the UIA, Martín Rappallini, for the business community. Adorni also recognized his predecessor, Guillermo Francos, who was on 'most of the journey' of the May Council.