Police guard Congress where the lower house approved a bill promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb 2, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

BUENOS AIRES –Argentina's Chamber of Deputies on Friday approved in general terms a reform bill proposed by President Javier Milei's administration to deregulate the economy, leading the bill to the detailed negotiation phase.

The lower house of the Argentine Parliament approved the bill by a vote of 144-109, after over 30 hours of debate for three consecutive days.

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The draft Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, known in the country as the "omnibus bill," will enter the article-by-article negotiation phase next week before it reaches the Senate.

Anti-government protesters face-off with police outside Congress after the lower house approved a bill promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb 2, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

The omnibus bill's more than 300 articles aim to undertake structural reforms, including in economic, administrative, criminal, and environmental aspects.

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Shortly before the vote, Milei had urged legislators to support the proposal with a message on social media, in which he stated that they had "the opportunity to show which side of history they want to be on."