The CGT strike started this Wednesday at 12, with
discreet compliance among the businesses in the neighborhood shopping centers
, both in Greater Buenos Aires and in the Capital.
The situation was different in the Center, where from before noon,
for fear of damage and to avoid problems,
several establishments began to lower their blinds.
Trade unionism mobilized from the CGT to Congress, where La Cámpora and sectors of the left joined.
A greengrocer and self-service store in Malvinas Argentinas, served by Bolivian merchants who will not close throughout this Wednesday.
In other neighborhoods, however, businesses were operating normally.
In Once, for example, according to
Clarín
, businesses served the public although some warned that they should close early.
The reason is the place of residence of the employees.
Thus, some stores with vendors in Greater Buenos Aires would stop working after 4 or 5 p.m. to give them time to return to their homes.
Others, staffed by City staff, will extend until later.
Beyond the shops, the area is much less crowded than usual on a weekday in January.
The scenario was similar on Corrientes Avenue, where most people walk towards Callo
to go to the demonstration in Congress.
In the southern municipalities of Greater Buenos Aires,
this Wednesday began with total normality.
The galleries of the main shopping malls in the region opened their doors and served the public, like a normal day.
Different employees of businesses consulted by
Zonales
in areas such as candy kiosks, bookstores and butcher shops stated that they will not close during the afternoon.
"We are going to work normally,"
said Mariana, who runs a kiosk in Llavallol.
Shops in downtown Buenos Aires did close at noon for fear of riots and destruction due to the mobilization.
In the peripheral neighborhoods this situation seems to be replicated at a general level.
An employee of a pizzeria in the Lomese town of Villa Albertina also stated that he will work and that in the neighborhood the general panorama seems to be that of a normal day:
"I can't close and lose the sales day."
In shopping centers such as the pedestrian Laprida de Lomas or Lanusita, in many cases they have not yet defined what they will do and are seeing
"how the day goes
. "
At those points the panorama is more diverse and there are merchants who will join the protest starting at noon.
This is how Ricardo Murillo, a merchant from the center of Lomas, expressed it: "At the moment we are open, but let's see what other businesses are doing. I know of several that are going to lower the blinds from 12 noon."
Video
This is the commercial center of the town of Caseros.
The merchants say that "you have to work."
In the center of Lomas is where it could be felt most, they explain, as happened in previous strikes.
"We are going to close at noon and I know of several stores on the block that will also do so,"
said the owner of a bookstore a few blocks from Plaza Grigera.
In the first hours, the local media also echoed the movement in the neighborhoods.
The newspaper En la Mira uploaded a photo gallery with the open businesses in Wilde, Avellaneda.
A similar situation was seen in 9 de Abril, Esteban Echeverría's party, and in Temperley, based on photos that
neighbors were uploading to social networks
.
In the West Zone, the panorama is similar.
The most important avenues were with
the majority of locals attending
.
Yes, there were fewer people than usual.
"Here we need to work. I don't agree with the strike, but I don't agree with several things that Milei proposes. Even so, we come from several very bad years. This government has just started. We have to wait, not long, for the results," he says. Jorge, from his most important furniture store in the West, looks quite similar to those of a normal day, although some businesses can be seen with the curtains drawn.
Normal.
Business as usual on Cabildo Avenue.
Its owners warned that it will continue like this throughout the day despite the strike.
Locals serving the neighborhoods of the City
In the City's neighborhoods, most businesses also opened during the morning, starting at 10. And many of those who work there assured Clarín that they will continue to serve during the afternoon despite the CGT strike.
In Villa Pueyrredón, for example, on Mosconi Avenue, businesses functioned almost normally.
The same thing happened on Artigas, on both sides of the Miter railroad tracks that split the neighborhood in two.
"I'm not a Peronist or a libertarian. I'm not a Macrista either. Even less a Kirchnerist. I'm a worker and I have to open if I want to die. The situation is very difficult but we have to be brave. Of course, I don't mind being told that I have to close my business. because some unions want to ensure that union dues are mandatory," says Dario, on the other side of the counter at his store, near the station.
Report: Malena Martos