He Senate approved in plenary the Accountability bill which includes a reallocation of resources of 30.5 million and several articles that already generate controversy among different sectors of Uruguay.
The Upper House finished voting after midnight on the Accountability bill, the last of the administration of Luis Lacalle Pou which allows the increase in public spending. The text in general had obtained approval last Tuesday, and since Wednesday it was voted on article by article.
After two days of intense sessions and an approval that was expected after the Multicolor Coalition reached the prior and necessary political agreements, the project will return to the Chamber of Deputies so that, there, the modifications made by the senators are approved.
Reallocation of resources for 30.5 million dollars
The approved project establishes the reallocation of resources for 30.5 million dollars. This was one of the points that brought the most tension within the coalition, mainly due to the claims of Town meeting around the military salary – among other issues – that put on the table, once again, the negotiating abilities of the members of the government – with their own partners.
However, the crisis did not come and the “rebel” party cast its votes after reaching an agreement.
In this way, in the 30.5 million reallocated dollars, the item to reinforce the salaries of the Armed forces, in the order of 10 million dollars, which will allow everyone from soldiers to lieutenant colonels to receive a salary increase of 1,000 pesos as of its entry into force on January 1, 2024.
In turn, 4.8 million dollars were allocated for public health, contemplating the remodeling of the Clinics Hospital4.2 million dollars for security, and 3.6 million more dollars for education, among other reallocations.
controversial articles
In the coming days, we will continue talking about some of the articles of the Accountability, mainly due to the rejection and the controversies around them that were already being discussed. One of them is the 630, which inhibits the country’s prosecutors from practicing law in the private sphere for three years after their dismissal.
This initiative was harshly rejected by the Association of Fiscal Magistrates of Uruguay that, since Wednesday, they have been in declared conflict and today they will carry out a strike from 1 to 3 p.m. In addition, they will denounce “permanent harassment” by some legislators before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Another article that has been giving something to talk about is the one that modifies the Intellectual Property Rightsand which has strongly displeased multinational companies such as Spotify —to the point of threatening to leave the country if approved—due to alleged extra payments that they will have to make and the impact that this would have on “the ability to invest and provide services at reasonable prices for consumers.”
The recent news is that, indeed, the article was approved and was widely supported by local businessmen. So it remains to be seen the reaction of Spotify and other streaming content platforms in this regard.
Source: Ambito
