Martina Jaureguy 
President Javier Milei has secured a major victory in Congress after suffering legislative setbacks in the past weeks. On Wednesday, the Lower House voted to uphold his presidential veto overturning a pension increase that had been approved by both chambers.
Overturning the veto would have required a special majority of two thirds of deputies (85 votes). Ultimately, 87 voted against overturning the veto and 153 in favor, while eight abstained.
Most of the opposition voted for the raise when it was first debated, but some deputies from the center-right UCR party changed their position.
After the vote, Argentina’s presidential communications team wrote that it thanked “the patriotic labor of the 87 national deputies who prevented a group of irresponsible people from adopting populist measures that would have bankrupted the public purse.” It added that any public spending increases that threaten the government’s policy of fiscal balance would encounter “a non-negotiable wall in this President and the 87 patriots of the Legislative Power. If necessary, we’ll veto them all.”
On August 22, the Senate approved a pension formula reform that the Lower House had passed in June. The new law established a hike and guarantees to prevent retirees’ income from falling behind the basket of goods.
Ten days later, Milei used his veto power for the first time to overturn the law on the grounds that it was “irrational” and went against the government’s goal of fiscal balance. The increase would have been AR$15,000 (US$15 at the official rate or US$12 at the MEP rate) in September for those earning the minimum state pension.
Deputy Germán Martínez, leader of the Peronist opposition Unión por la Patria bloc, argued that Argentina could afford the pensions raises. “All the calculations that we and the Congress budget office did […] said that it was absolutely sustainable,” he told C5N news channel. “Today, La Libertad Avanza [Milei’s coalition] didn’t know how to defend a president who never said that he would impose austerity measures on pensioners, and who is now managing for 30 in every 100 pesos that he cuts to be paid for by retirees.”
Outside Congress, protesters gathered to demand Milei’s veto be overturned. After the vote, police used tear gas and water cannon against the demonstrators. Previous protests by pensioners in recent weeks have likewise been met with a violent police response.
Last week, opposition deputies from center blocs Unión Cívica Radical, Encuentro Federal and Coalición Cívica called for a session on Wednesday at 11 a.m. to discuss the veto. Initially, it appeared likely that the veto would be overturned, since the law itself passed with a majority of over two thirds in the Lower House (in June) and the Senate (August). Unusually, the conservative PRO party, which usually votes with Milei’s ruling La Libertad Avanza, backed the pension bill in the Senate.
Although the UCR party initially promoted the pension reform bill and all of its deputies voted for it, on Tuesday five of its deputies met up with Milei and took pictures with him in Casa Rosada.
One of them, Mariano Campero, confirmed before the meeting that he would back the veto, despite having voted for it originally. “We will support the president’s arguments regarding the presidential veto,” he wrote Tuesday on X. “Kirchnerism and the ‘friendly opposition’ have a hidden goal to harm the economic plan.”
Seventeen of the UCR’s 33 deputies were among those calling for Wednesday’s session last week. The National UCR Convention firmly rejected the veto in a note on Tuesday and said there would be sanctions for all party deputies who back Milei’s decision with their vote.
Additionally, the UCR lost one vote because Pedro Galimberti left his position as deputy on Wednesday to take up a spot in the technical commission of the Salto Grande dam in Entre Ríos province. He will be replaced by a member of right-wing party PRO, Milei’s main ally in Congress.
PRO’s leader, former President Mauricio Macri, has endorsed Milei’s veto and criticized his party’s senators who backed the bill. Before issuing the veto, Milei had met with members of his bloc as well as PRO and former LLA deputies to discuss forming an official alliance. All of the attendees backed the veto.
The bill that was vetoed cannot be presented in Congress again for one year.
Outside of Congress, thousands of people protested against Milei’s veto. In the last two weeks, police have violently cracked down on pensioners protesting the decision using tear gas.
Milei’s legislative setbacks
In addition to the pensions raise approval, the government suffered another setback in Congress when deputies voted to strike down a presidential decree that granted the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE, by its Spanish acronym) a US$100 million budget for confidential purposes. The Milei administration had previously lost a bid to lead a bi-cameral commission that will control intelligence activities.
Despite the vote, the decree continues to stand and would only fall if both chambers reject it. The Senate is scheduled to debate the presidential decree in a session on Thursday. If the opposition prevails, it would be the first time both houses reject a presidential decree in Argentine history.
