By Linda Perez : laprogressive – excerpt

When it comes to housing, healthcare, and workers’ rights, Milei has pushed a radical agenda that goes against communities, endangering the very fabric of democracy in Argentina…

Why is a California organization called the Bay Area Council bringing the far-right president of Argentina to our state? Javier Milei, in just six months in office, has sparked nationwide protests for attacking inclusion policies, removing gun restrictions, and threatening affordable housing, all of which the Council says it supports. Welcoming him to the Pacific Summit 2024 in San Jose this week raises disturbing questions about the Council and its own legislative agenda.

The Bay Area Council promotes itself as a champion for housing, transportation, and public safety. Yet its chosen headliner conflicts with the Council’s purported goals and reveals the increasingly illiberal, pro-corporate, and anti-democratic shift by the Council itself.

In recent months, the Council has sponsored four bills—SB 1092, SB 951, SB 1077, and AB 2560—that masquerade as tools for coastal housing access. In reality, they would extend some perks to developers and neuter the California Coastal Commission’s power…(more)