As of: January 25, 2024, 4:37 a.m
By: Laura May
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Trade unions, artists and NGOs paralyzed Argentina with a nationwide general strike.
They fear that President Milei will sell out the country.
Buenos Aires – What do churches, feminists and dock workers have in common?
They are all afraid of the radical state restructuring in Argentina that President Javier Milei is planning.
“The only emergency we have is work, food, education and health,” reads the sign of a retired participant in the nationwide general strike on Wednesday (January 24).
It refers to the declaration of a “public emergency,” with which Milei wants to push through a huge reform package, as well as an emergency decree with 30 measures that the president signed immediately after taking office in December.
General strike in Argentina: “You can’t sell the country!”
The powerful CGT union had called for a general strike.
Large parts of public life were brought to a standstill in Argentina this Wednesday.
In recent weeks, January 24th has been set as the deadline for the protest, far beyond the union.
That's why a wide variety of groups with drums, trumpets and Bengalos gathered around the congress in Buenos Aires in the morning.
As always, there is debate about the exact number of participants in the strike.
The organizing union CGT speaks of 1.5 million people across the country.
Dancers, musicians, librarians, transport, public administration, health care, associations commemorating the military dictatorship, communists, Peronists, fishing employees, feminists, the science association, bank employees - Today everyone has a common enemy: “The madman” (in Spanish: “el loco”), as Milei is affectionately and derogatorily called.
General strike against planned reforms by Argentina's President Milei
“La patria no se vende!” (in English: You don’t sell the land).
This intersectional battle cry against the neoliberal state restructuring resounds like a mantra through the streets around the square of the Argentine legislature.
The people who came to this protest today want to prevent at all costs international corporations from being allowed to buy unlimited land, health and education from being privatized, the right to strike from being restricted or laws regulating the labor and real estate markets from being abolished.
Concerns about Argentina selling out extend far beyond the country's borders.
This Wednesday there were also demonstrations of solidarity with the Argentine general strike in Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Rome, Berlin, Geneva, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rome, Santiago de Chile, Bogotá and Montevideo.
The decree issued (DNU) and the planned reform package (Omnibus Law) cover so many areas that no one knows exactly what needs to be talked about most urgently.
However, everyone is concerned about the country's social security.
With the world's highest inflation of over 200 percent last year and around half of the population below the poverty line, the organizations fear fatal social consequences of the ultra-liberal president's planned policies.
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Members of trade unions chant slogans against the reform plans of President Milei's ultra-liberal government.
© Cristina Sille/telam/dpa
Anarcho-capitalism in Argentina: “No strike can stop us
Milei, on the other hand, sees feminism and socialism as the country's main problem and relies entirely on the free market.
For the economist, taxes are not a legitimate instrument of distribution, but are inherently unfair because they are imposed through coercion.
He would like to ban protests.
He has already announced that he will cut wages for state employees if they take part in the strike.
The controversial reform package is currently being discussed in Congress.
There will be a decision on this matter on Thursday.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich has already made it clear via the X platform (formerly Twitter): “No strike can stop us, no threat can intimidate us.” (Laura May)