In the midst of violent protests, a contentious debate between coalition and opposition members resulted in provisional approval of two bills. The streets were filled with thousands of protesters who set cars on fire and threw Molotov cocktails. Security service soldiers responded with tear gas and water jets.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sebastian Claure, a historian and expert on immigration and Latin American Jewry at the University of Haifa, discussed the latest developments in Argentina with Maariv. He explained that the bill had passed the Senate and was on its way back to the House of Representatives. Claure noted that the original proposed law contained 600 sections, but the current version only has 200. He anticipated that the law may undergo further modifications in the House of Representatives.
The bill aims to bring about comprehensive reform in Argentina, covering areas such as privatization, professional clerkships, deregulation of economic government intervention, and privatization in education and pension policies. The demonstrations in the streets and legislature reflect fundamental differences in worldviews. Dr. Sebastian Claure highlighted concerns that the law even in its softened version favors the wealthy and could adversely affect working middle class people.
Argentina appears to be caught in a cycle of crises every seven years, with economic crises leading to political and social unrest. Critics accuse President Javier Millay of being lenient towards foreign capital at the expense of Argentine population. Despite protests by opposition groups raising constitutional concerns, they have been unable to prevent progression of bill proposed by Millay which sparked demonstrations due to concerns about impact on pensioners teachers public services which he is accused of negatively affecting them through this policy change .
Despite these challenges, Claure believes that ultimately it will be decided by people’s choice and further revisions will be made based on their decision-making process through legislative process
