Javier Milei already has six vetoes so far in government and heads to break new records. With what he vetoed until now he already exceeded two predecessors such as Cristina Kirchner (three total vetoes in his two presidencies) and Mauricio Macri (five), although he is still far from his admired Carlos Menem, who accumulated 51 in ten years of power, that is, five per year. The libertarian leader, who has an alarming minority in the current composition of the Congress, embarked the university financing laws, reform of the formula for the update of retirement and emergency in Bahía Blanca in its first batch of vetoes, before the last three that added in these weeks and that the Chamber of Deputies has just partially turned: the emergency in disability must also be rejected by the Senate. Each of those vetoes earned him mass marches like that of the students or retirees, but the president is emperoring to put a brake on those who call “fiscal degenerates.” He accuses them of wanting to break his blessed “zero deficit.”
Behind that epic battle, however, there is a little known story. How did Milei become the serial ventator that seems to be taken impulse? The key date is September 30, 2024. That day an illustrious visitor arrived in the country, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who a few months before had been reelected with 70 percent of the votes. The libertarian received him with open arms and took pictures on the balcony of the Casa Rosada. It was one of his idols. Known for his hard hand – one of the flags that also raised Milei – but also for another small detail that did not go unnoticed by the host: he ruled to a clean veto. In his first two years of management, for example, he had reached almost 60 rejected laws. Then, the opposition almost stopped counting. And after his overwhelming re -election, Bukele no longer needs to veto. Handle the Congress.
In the meeting with Milei, the Argentine was interested in that facet of his government. The Salvadoran asked how he did to impose his agenda in Parliament with so few own legislators. It is negotiated, explained Milei, with Mauricio Macri and other allies on duty. But what do those allies do not want to accompany?
There, next to him, was the solution to the problem: the Bukele formula.
“It worked for me,” said, more words, less, the visitor to Milei.
The host shone his eyes.
How many vetoes did Milei have until then? One, the one of the retirement update formula. But, from that day, he couldn’t stop anymore.
In some of his heated address even threatened the opposition: “Bukele ruled pure veto, is what I am going to do.”
And after the last batch of laws approved, on July 10, he announced that they would lower their thumb again: “We are going to veto. And if the circumstance was still given, which I do not believe, but if the veto is given it falls, we will prosecute it.”
Milei intends to continue ruling back to Congress. He had the best of teachers.
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