President Javier Milei's first speech
before Congress
, on the occasion of the opening of the ordinary sessions, lasted for one hour and ten minutes and, between calls for pacts, description of the inheritance received and promises of laws, it took a while also to
identify by name and surname politicians and leaders
who, in their opinion, were responsible for the Argentine socio-economic crisis.
The first name that Milei brought up was that of the general secretary of SUTEBA,
Roberto Baradel.
She did so by remembering that the DNU signed last December included declaring education as an essential service.
"In an Argentina where children do not know how to read or write,
we can no longer allow Baradel and his friends to use students as hostages to negotiate joint agreements
with the provincial governments," said the President.
Roberto Baradel, one of the unionists mentioned by Milei in Congress.
Photo Juano Tesone, archive
Next, he stressed that the decree that deregulates the economy included declaring “education as an essential service.”
The objective, according to Milei, is to “take the weapon out of the unions' hands and force them to provide at least 70% of the educational service during any strike.”
The head of state was thus referring to
the continuous teacher strikes
called during the government of Mauricio Macri, suspended during that of Alberto Fernández, and recently resumed under his management.
The most notable face of these forceful measures has been Baradel, a leader in the teaching union of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Then it was the turn to refer by name and surname to former Fernández officials, a union member and a social leader.
When talking about the labor chapter of the DNU – today stopped by Justice before a presentation by the CGT – and the Omnibus Law project – fallen into disgrace for not having enough votes in the Chamber of Deputies – he said that they were
"handled and rejected by a part of the political class that resists change.
After stating that there is "an important sector of the political leadership that does not want to abandon the privileges of the old regime," he said that this could be seen in "the
violent demonstrations in front of Congress
, in the
statements of union members
who resist to understand that the Argentina of privileges is over, in the actions of the deputies who asked for the vote supporting the change but who tried to betray their mandate while no one was watching.
Máximo Kirchner, present at the opening of ordinary sessions of Congress.
Photo Clarín
He then blamed a group of politicians by name and surname.
"We saw it in the reappearance of the riders of failure: Sergio Massa, Pablo Moyano, Juan Grabois and Máximo Kirchner."
Of all of them, the only one present in the room was the son of the former vice president.
“Even with the reappearance of former president
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
, who has been responsible for one of the worst governments in history,” he added.
However, Milei did not mention Alberto Fernández in this list of those responsible for the failure of the changes proposed by his management.
Juan Grabois's response
Among all those mentioned by Milei during his speech in the Legislative Assembly, for the moment, the only one who came out to respond to him was the social leader
Juan Grabois
.
He did so through his X account, which has become his primary media outlet in recent months.
Riders of Failure.
If Milei had continued with Rock & Roll she could have made a cool band with that name and would have avoided the regrettable spectacle of the most idiotic applauders in recent history who - out of touch - dress up to shout praises to a...
— Juan Grabois (@JuanGrabois) March 2, 2024
“Horsemen of Failure. If Milei had continued with Rock & Roll she could have made a cool band with that name,”
said the former presidential candidate when remembering the president's time as a musician.
And, in a harsh accusation of the libertarian militancy and leadership this Friday present in Congress, he said that if he had continued on the path of music “he would have avoided the
regrettable spectacle of the
most idiotic applauders in recent history who - out of stock - they dress up to shout praises to a brutal impoverishment that does not even touch them.