An Argentine court temporarily suspended parts of President Javier Milei’s mega presidential decree, in response to a challenge from the country’s largest trade union confederation. The ruling applies to labor reforms included in a decree aimed massively deregulating the economy, and applies until court can make a final decision on whether they are allowable under Argentine law without congressional approval, reports Reuters.
Mile’s government said it would appeal the court’s ruling.
Judge Alejandro Sudera, of the National Chamber of Labor Appeals, questioned the "necessity" and "urgency" of the decree Milei signed on December 20 and suspended the measures until they can be properly considered by Congress. Some of the decree’s measures appeared to be "repressive or punitive in nature" and it was not clear how their application would aid Milei's objective of "creating real jobs," Sudera said. (AFP)
Sudera said the ruling was further justified as workers are a socially vulnerable sector. The suspended measures include limits to strike rights, extension of pre-hire trial period, and allowing the possibility of dismissal for workers taking part in some protests, reports Página 12.
Labor activists have questioned whether the government can impose the measures using emergency decree bypass the legislature, reports the Associated Press.
More Argentina
The mega decree will test the ability of the legislative and judicial powers to exert control over the executive, with particular relevance to the Supreme Court. Challenges to the decree focus on form — whether the president’s move usurps legislative powers, and whether the context justifies the state of exception — and the content of the reforms — which violate the principle of non-regressiveness of rights, according to a special report by Revista Crisis.
Milei is pressuring Congress to pass a separate package of reforms, the so-called “Omnibus Law,” before the end of the month, but analysts say this is unlikely without negotiations with government officials. The declaration of a public emergency that would allow the president to bypass Congress for two years is a particular sticking point for many lawmakers, reports Infobae.
Milei swept aside 22 army generals, the largest military shake-up in 20 years. “For analysts, the government is handing ‘a clear message of empowerment’ to the military, which now also occupies important positions in the Defense Ministry,” reports El País.
Argentina detains foreigners in suspected plot
Argentine authorities are investigating three men, including a Syrian national, who were detained in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas on suspicion of planning an attack, reports the Associated Press.
They had booked into a hotel near the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and were reportedly waiting for the arrival of a large parcel from Yemen, reports the BBC. The city is currently hosting the Pan-American Maccabiah Games, which brings together thousands of Jewish athletes.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said Argentina had received intelligence from the United States and Israel on the potential threat, reports AFP.
Migration
Thousands of people from a 4,000-strong migrant caravan that had been crossing southern Mexico by foot since Christmas Eve dispersed on Tuesday, boarding buses to processing centers in order to apply for travel permits, reports Reuters.
“In return, the United States took several steps to ease tensions with Mexico,” reports El País.
Mexico and Venezuela announced last weekend that they have restarted repatriation flights of Venezuelans migrants in Mexico. The move comes as authorities say at least 10,000 migrants a day have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of them asylum seekers, reports the Associated Press.
Venezuela
Venezuela's oil exports increased 12% last year as the United States eased sanctions imposed since 2019 on the OPEC country's energy sector, according to Reuters. “Further gains could remain limited by the need for stable policies and capital to rebuild Venezuela's crude production, which rose at a slower rate than exports last year.”
Regional Relations
Guyanese professor Janette Bulkan questions Guyana’s participation in talks with Venezuela last month over the Essequibo dispute, arguing that external oil interests had influence on the negotiations in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (Stabroek News)
Regional
Fertility declines in several Latin American and Caribbean countries have recently accelerated to an unexpected degree that even experts are struggling to explain, reports Americas Quarterly. Expanded access to contraception is likely one factor behind the phenomenon, but experts also say that “long-standing concerns about employment, housing costs, access to childcare and the gendered division of household labor may be hardening into a general hesitation to have children.”