The day began with a massive protest around the Obelisk, a central landmark in Buenos Aires, starting at 7:00 a.m. local time.
The protest, organized through social media, was met with repression by units of the Buenos Aires City Police.
More demonstrations are expected throughout the day.
The administration of Javier Milei hopes to pass two ambitious laws in the Senate—the labor reform and the Juvenile Criminal Justice System—before the president inaugurates the new legislative session on Sunday with a speech at the National Congress.
This is intended to demonstrate, primarily to the United States and the IMF, that Argentina enjoys the stability necessary to implement its policies.
The Senate thus concludes the extraordinary sessions convened by the Casa Rosada (the presidential palace) with the support of its legislative leaders and allies.
A tense and protracted deliberation is predicted, potentially lasting until the early hours of Saturday.
The debate is scheduled to begin at noon, and it is anticipated that the ruling party and its allies will secure passage of the labor reform bill, as well as the new juvenile criminal justice system.
The Senate already approved the labor reform bill three weeks ago with 42 votes in favor and 30 against, but during the debate in the Chamber of Deputies, legislators introduced modifications, requiring it to return to the Senate.
Regarding the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, the Chamber of Deputies approved it two weeks ago with 149 votes in favor and 100 against.
On Thursday, the executive branch secured Senate approval of the Mercosur-European Union trade agreement with a wide majority of 69 votes in favor and three against.
Then, it secured preliminary approval for the reform to the Law of Minimum Budgets for the Protection of Glaciers and the Periglacial Environment, which still needs to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies.
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) called for a large demonstration on Monday at the Comodoro Py courthouse, where it will file an injunction against the new Labor Law, which it sees as regressive and curtailing workers’ rights.
Regarding the legal treatment of young people, the proposed system lowers the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14, which has generated rejection.
Legal experts agree that this will not solve the problem of juvenile delinquency, which, they argue, can be achieved through socio-economic improvement for adolescents.
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