Milei vetoes pension increase in Argentina: "There's no money"
President cites fiscal risk; Congress could still overturn the decision.
BUENOS AIRES, August 4 (Reuters) Argentine President Javier Milei vetoed on Monday an increase in pensions and a bill strengthening protections for people with disabilities, approved by lawmakers in July, arguing that they jeopardize fiscal balance.
The decision to veto the bills had already been announced by Milei last month, although Congress — where the libertarian president does not have a majority — could still overturn the vetoes.
The vetoes come less than three months before Argentina's midterm elections, seen as an indicator of approval for the Milei government, which has managed to reduce annual inflation from triple digits, but whose austerity policies have had a social impact.
After the publication of the decree containing the vetoes, the Argentine presidency stated in a note that the bills were approved by Congress irresponsibly, without identifying the sources of funding.
"This president prefers to tell an uncomfortable truth rather than repeat comfortable lies: there is no money," the statement said.
Report by Maximilian Heath; Written by Benjamín Mejías Valencia; Edited by Sharon Singleton, Gabriel Araujo, and Franklin Paul
