Argentine Senate passes pension spending increase in a blow to President Milei’s radical austerity

Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s Senate has defied the government to approve an increase to pension spending that would cost at least an estimated 0.4% of the gross domestic product, dealing a blow to President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity program. Thursday’s bruising defeat for right-wing President Milei again cast a spotlight on his weakness in Congress, where leftist and centrist lawmakers hold sway. The bill, which already swept through the lower house in June, passed the senate in a 61-8 vote. Milei has vowed to strike down legislation that undermines his “zero deficit” plan. But the pension law threatened to revive investors’ fears about Milei’s ability to implement his radical agenda aimed at rescuing Argentina’s long-troubled economy.