Argentina's Senate on Thursday voted to reject President Javier Milei's sprawling "mega decree" of economic reforms, a major blow to the libertarian leader's austerity agenda as he tries to remedy the country's ailing economy, Reuters reports.
Milei, an outsider economist whose party has a minority in Congress, took office in December and used his powers of presidential decree to roll out measures ranging from privatizations to labor reforms.
The president's party has a minority in both chambers.
Thursday's vote dealt a second legislative defeat after lawmakers last month put the brakes on a separate proposed package of sweeping reforms.
The December decree, issued just days into the new president's government, kicked off Milei's shock treatment approach to Argentina's chronic economic ills, a plan that included his devaluation of the local peso by more than 50%.
The government's measures have managed to move the country's fiscal and trade imbalances in a favorable direction, while also taking a toll on much of the population. Annual inflation surged to 276% last month, with poverty levels climbing to 57% of the population.
