The Milei administration and the provincial governors are ready to move forward with the discussion of a new omnibus bill, Interior Minister Guillermo Francos said on Friday in a press conference following a four-hour meeting at Casa Rosada. The reunion had been called to discuss the “May pact” that President Milei invited governors to sign in his opening speech to Congress. 

“We did a general presentation of the aspects of the previous [omnibus] bill that had reached a certain level of consensus, which will be the points we’ll be working on,” Francos stated, adding that the final version of the bill was not presented and is still being written. No concrete timetable was offered as to when it might be finished. 

He also said that while some governors were opposed to the bill, the majority of them were supportive. “We understand that these issues, related to the improvement of production, investment, and development, are very positive,” said Francos, who conducted the press conference alongside governors Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos) and Osvaldo Jaldo (Tucumán). 

Both governors showed their support for a new omnibus bill and their openness to working with the federal government. Frigerio also welcomed the issues Milei listed as part of the “May pact,” saying there were a good guiding pont. While all the provinces sent either their governor or vice governor (Mayor Jorge Macri represented Buenos Aires City), Milei was not present at the meeting. 

The Milei administration presented the original omnibus bill, a massive, 351-page-long, 664-article project aimed at deeply reforming the Argentine state, in late December. It was treated throughout January in extraordinary sessions of Congress and received general approval on February 2. The bill, however, fell through after the government and the opposition could not reach an agreement to approve certain sections of the project, namely those related to privatizations and the delegation of legislative powers. 

The interior minister said the new version of the bill will be shorter and focused on the topics on which both sides were in agreement when the February vote was done. 

Francos stated that pension payments and the reinstatement of income tax were also discussed in the meeting, two issues that have been at the center of the conflict over funding between the federal administration and the provinces. The interior minister said that the government will look to present a bill addressing both topics in the coming weeks. 

The president’s press office also released a statement saying that other issues aimed at fiscal relief were discussed at the meeting, among them the elimination of certain taxes and the possibility of a moratorium, as well as changes to the Personal Assets Law.