Milei to delay lawmakers' vacation to push forward with his reforms

President Javier Milei plans to prevent the new Congress, elected in October, from taking part of its usual summer vacation so that lawmakers can vote on his planned reforms and a budget by year's end.

Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni said on X that the president would sign a decree ordering the Congress into a special legislative session from December 10 to 30. 

Usually, after elections, the new Congress has a ceremonial inaugural session on December 10 and leaves on vacation until its first regular session on March 1.

The 2026 budget, plans to shake up labour law and penal code reforms that will toughen penalties for offenders are among the items on the Congressional agenda, Adorni said.

Amendments to loosen Argentina’s Glacier Protection Law will also be debated.

Milei says that protected areas "are not well defined" and that he wants to give each province the power to decide and encourage mining activity.

Proposed labour law reforms, which have not yet been officially unveiled in any detail, are likely to face the stiffest resistance, and could provoke mass protests.

Media reports and angry trade unions have suggested that the Milei wants to make working hours more flexible – meaning far longer work days – and make it easier to hire and fire staff.

The proposals have garnered support from business chambers and rejection from trade unions.
On the fiscal front, it will seek to pass a "presumption of innocence" law, which raises the minimum thresholds for considering tax evasion a crime and shortens its statute of limitations.

It will also push for a law to prohibit fiscal deficits and criminally punish money-printing.

As for the reform of the criminal code, the government has announced that it will push for tougher penalties and the non-prescription of serious crimes, among other points.

After his clear win in October's midterm elections, Milei now has a far greater legislative advantage for the second half of his term, even though he will still negotiate with provincial governors and other political forces alliances to push through his free-market agenda.

No party has an absolute majority in the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies. Milei's La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party and its centre-right ally, the PRO party of former president Mauricio Macri, will have a combined 107 seats. 

La Libertad Avanza is now the first minority in the chamber. The key threshold was a third of seats, which allows Milei's caucus to block opposition bills.

– TIMES/AFP