2018 opening of regular sessions of the National Congress of Argentina

2018 opening of regular sessions of the National Congress of Argentina
	President Mauricio Macri delivers his speech
Date	1 March 2018
Venue	National Congress of Argentina
Location	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Type	Opening of regular sessions of the National Congress of Argentina
Participants	Mauricio Macri

The 2018 opening of regular sessions of the National Congress of Argentina took place on 1 March, 2018. It was a speech delivered by president Mauricio Macri at the National Congress of Argentina.

Contents and delivery

Economy

Macri pointed that unemployment and inflation are decreasing in the country. He said that if he had made reforms too quickly it would have caused an economic crisis, and if he did not made reforms the country would have faced a crisis similar to the one in Venezuela.^[1]

Education

Macri commented that education in Argentina is in a poor state, citing the results of the "Aprender" exams. He considered that this would leave the new generations unprepared to access high quality jobs in the future. He criticised the unions of the sector, accusing them of neglecting the educative needs for political gain and only being concerned about wages.^[1]

Crime

The president pointed that the country has a clear strategy for dealing with illegal drug trade, which would be bearing fruit. He also called to update the penal code. As for crime in general, he rejected both police brutality and pro-crime policies as viable solutions.^[1]

Abortion

Although Macri defined himself as "pro-life", he encouraged the Congress to have an abortion debate and discuss a potential abortion law.^[1]

Responses

Former president Eduardo Duhalde criticised Macri and considered that his government does not seek enough political consensus for its actions.^[2] Former president and then senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her son, deputy Máximo Kirchner, did not attend the ceremony, and stayed at their home in Calafate.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mauricio Macri en el Congreso: reviví el minuto a minuto de la Asamblea Legislativa" [Mauricio Macri in the Congress, relive the minute by minute of the Legislative assembly] (in Spanish). La Nación. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
^ "Tras el discurso de Macri, Eduardo Duhalde volvió a criticar al Gobierno: "El Presidente no sabe lo que es el diálogo"" [After Macri's speech, Eduardo Duhalde criticized the government again: "the president does not know what does dialogue means"] (in Spanish). La Nación. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
^ Mariela Arias (1 March 2018). "Cristina y Máximo Kirchner eligieron no presenciar el discurso de Macri" [Cristina and Máximo Kirchner chose not to see the speech of Macri] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved 28 February 2018.

[revivi-1] "Mauricio Macri en el Congreso: reviví el minuto a minuto de la Asamblea Legislativa" [Mauricio Macri in the Congress, relive the minute by minute of the Legislative assembly] (in Spanish). La Nación. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.

[2] "Tras el discurso de Macri, Eduardo Duhalde volvió a criticar al Gobierno: "El Presidente no sabe lo que es el diálogo"" [After Macri's speech, Eduardo Duhalde criticized the government again: "the president does not know what does dialogue means"] (in Spanish). La Nación. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.

[3] Mariela Arias (1 March 2018). "Cristina y Máximo Kirchner eligieron no presenciar el discurso de Macri" [Cristina and Máximo Kirchner chose not to see the speech of Macri] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved 28 February 2018.

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