Argentina President Javier Milei faces the third general strike on Wednesday since he took the government, amid growing popular dissatisfaction with fiscal adjustment measures and expectation by (R $ 121 billion) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Convivated by the country’s leading trade union centrals-including CGT, CTA and CATT-the 24-hour stoppage was preceded by a march to the National Congress, scheduled for noon, with the adhesion of social organizations, public servants and retired. Unions call for a change in economic policy, which has generated budget cuts, increased unemployment and continuous drop in consumption.
“Faced with intolerable social inequality and a government that does not meet claims for better income and quality of life, we workers stop,” says the CGT statement.
Read more:
Impacts and paralyzed sectors
The strike reaches strategic sectors such as rail and air transport, schools, banks, universities, public services, garbage collection, post office and cargo transportation. Only medical services and gas stations should work partially. The exception is bus transportation, as the UTA (Union Transvipers) said it will maintain the operation after undergoing a compulsory conciliation process.
Aerolíneas Argentinas, the country’s main airline, canceled 258 flights and estimates damage to more than 20,000 passengers.
Continues after advertising
Brazilian companies were also impacted: Gol canceled 28 flights, and Latam suspended part of the operations, allowing remarks and reimbursements.
Political and economic context
The strike takes place the same day Milei travels to Paraguay to meet with President Santiago Peña, a movement interpreted by critics as an attempt to avoid internal wear. In parallel, the Argentine government tries to accelerate at least 40% of the value of the agreement with the IMF, given the exchange pressure that forced the Central Bank to sell more than $ 1.8 billion in reserves in recent weeks.
Despite severe cuts – which resulted in thousands of layoffs and reduction of transfers to provinces – the government commemorates the fall in inflation, from 211% in 2023 to 118% in recent accumulated, as well as a punctual poverty reduction from 52.9% to 38%, even level in the beginning of management.
Continues after advertising
Social dissatisfaction, however, grows. Union centrals denounce the impoverishment of the population, require salary readjustment, increase in pensions and better working conditions. The violent repression of a retirement protest in March would have been, according to trade unionists, the fuse for today’s strike.
Political risks and elections
Social pressure intensifies on the eve of the October legislative elections, in a scenario in which Milei still supports support between 40% and 45% of the electorate, according to major polls.
Maintaining this support will largely depend on the government’s ability to balance fiscal adjustment with the reduction of social impacts – and to realize the agreement with the IMF, essential to avoid a new currency crisis.
