International
Milei presents package of laws to Congress on day of demonstrations against him
December 28 |
The President of Argentina, the ultra-liberal Javier Milei, presented this Wednesday to Congress a package of laws, texts which contemplate the deregulation of the economy after the decree approved by the President last week, measures which provoked demonstrations against him and which so far resulted in six arrests.
Convened by the main labor centers, thousands of people gathered in front of the Palace of Tribunals in Buenos Aires to demand that the decree published last week to reform or repeal more than 300 regulations be declared unconstitutional.
“We do not question the legitimacy of President Milei, but we want him to respect the division of powers. Workers have the need to defend their rights when there is an unconstitutionality,” Gerardo Martínez, secretary general of the construction union, one of those who led the demonstration which was also joined by social organizations, told the press.
This initiative will come into force on Friday, within the framework of a strong fiscal adjustment that has already implied a devaluation of the peso of more than 50%.
“We have come to say no to the decree because it takes away one of the powers of the State, the Congress”, said to AFP Adrian Grana, one of the demonstrators for whom the presidential initiative “is a decalogue to favor the powerful to the detriment of the people”.
The demonstration developed peacefully until after midday, when a group of people had small altercations with police officers who were trying to prevent them from closing a street.
Six demonstrators were arrested, according to the press.
The Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, delivered to parliament a draft “omnibus law”, which includes a reform of the electoral system and the tax system, in addition to allowing the privatization of public companies, among other measures.
“We promote these reforms in the name of the May Revolution of 1810 and in defense of the life, liberty and property of Argentines,” Milei wrote in his X account when announcing the legislative project that completes his decree.
Congress opened extraordinary sessions on Tuesday to deal with these laws.
Milei, who took office on December 10 with the promise to reduce State spending, has already announced that he will not renew the contracts of 7,000 public employees.
The President hopes that the adjustment of public spending will reach the equivalent of 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The decree limits the right to strike, modifies labor agreements and the system of severance pay, also repeals laws protecting consumers against abusive price increases when annual inflation exceeds 160% and 40% of the population live in poverty.
“Today we are going to court, but there is another chapter focused on the Congress that will have to give a deep debate” on the content of the decree, said Gerardo Martinez.
The union leader urged the government to “form a collective tripartite dialogue table with employers and unions, as other countries that have gone through a severe adjustment have had”.
The Congress, where the ruling party is the third minority, can invalidate the decree, but this would take several months.
The initiative repeals the retirement mobility law and the law regulating rents, frees the price of bank commissions and punitive rates for debts and allows sports clubs to become corporations.
“It is destructive of all labor rights. The Argentine people elected Milei as president of the Nation, not as emperor,” criticized Martín Lucero, a 45-year-old teacher who came from Rosario to support the march.
Last week the courts opened a file to analyze a collective appeal against the decree.
“All the measures go right through me, they are going to starve us,” said Sofía Julián, a 33-year-old employee who came to the march from the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires. “We are united and organized and we are going to continue fighting to oppose the decisions taken by this government against the Argentine people,” she added.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
International
U.S. launches ads urging undocumented migrants to self-deport via CBP Home App
The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it will begin airing television and online ads encouraging undocumented migrants to self-deport using the CBP Home app, while warning them about the risks of remaining in the country unlawfully.
“If you are an illegal alien, this runway is your future,” says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in one of the YouTube ads released by her department, as the screen shows a long line of people —allegedly undocumented migrants— waiting to board a plane for removal from the U.S.
To prevent such a scenario, the government urges migrants to download the CBP Home app, launched last March by the Trump administration to facilitate voluntary departure through a series of incentives that would otherwise be lost if they are arrested and deported by authorities.
“The CBP Home app gives foreign nationals the option to leave now and self-deport, so they still have the chance to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” Noem said in a statement issued by the U.S. government.
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
U.S. launches ads urging undocumented migrants to self-deport via CBP Home App
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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