President Milei Sends Central Bank Reform Project to Congress

President Javier Milei has formally submitted a project to reform the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) to the National Congress. The proposal seeks to establish the preservation of the currency's value as the entity's sole mission, effectively reversing a 2012 reform that granted the bank multiple objectives including the promotion of employment and economic development. The project prohibits both direct and indirect financing of the National Treasury and eliminates the bank's ability to orient credit toward specific sectors.

To ensure institutional independence, the reform proposes that the removal of the BCRA president and directors require a two thirds majority vote from both chambers of Congress. It also removes the Minister of Economy from board meetings. Additionally, the project seeks to eliminate the use of non transferable letters issued by the government in favor of the bank. While the BCRA reform has been submitted, three other announced measures, including a capital market reform, an insurance market reform, and a fiscal rule known as the grillete fiscal, have not yet been formally sent to Congress.

The grillete fiscal would prohibit deficit budgets and could trigger a shutdown of non essential state activities, including the suspension of salaries for the president, ministers, and legislators, if fiscal imbalances persist. Center right sources frame these measures as strong decisions necessary to return the bank to its basic function and protect it from political interference. In contrast, center left coverage emphasizes the technical details of the legislation and describes the legislative path ahead as a long road.