Buenos Aires, Argentina - October 28, 2024 The privatization of state-owned airline Aerolíneas Argentinas can now be debated on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies. The ruling party La Libertad Avanza (LLA), secured the go-ahead in a congressional commission on Tuesday with support from the PRO party and some members of the UCR. President Javier Milei vowed to privatize the flag carrier as soon as he took office, putting it on the list of companies subject to privatization in the original version of the Ley Bases. However, the clause was later removed and was not included in the version approved by Congress in June. In early October, Milei issued an executive order proclaiming the company subject to privatization. That executive order is subject to congressional approval: if it passes both houses, the Executive Branch would be allowed to sell the company. Hernán Lombardi, a PRO deputy, said in the debate — which grouped the Transportation, Budget, and Treasury commissions — that his party wants “more flights, more frequencies, for Argentina to be better connected within the country and with the world.” Deputies from other parties signed two dissenting opinions. Center-left and left-wing coalitions Unión por la Patria (UxP) and Frente de Izquierda supported an opinion rejecting the privatization. Meanwhile, Encuentro Federal and the recently-formed Democracia para Siempre blocs backed the incorporation of private capital into the company, with the state being the majority shareholder.