Argentine workers launch general strike against Milei reforms, austerity

However, his pro-market stance and tough austerity medicine have hurt people's real salaries, pushed up already high poverty levels and seen economic activity tank at the start of the year. Hugo Yasky, secretary general of the major CTA union, posted on X that the strike was against "a government that only benefits the rich at the expense of the people, gives away natural resources and seeks to eliminate workers' rights." The action is a test for Milei's government.

Argentine unions launched a huge general strike on Thursday against painful austerity measures and planned reforms by new libertarian President Javier Milei, whose cost-cutting drive has stabilized local markets but hammered the real economy. The South American country saw public transport, the important grains crushing sector, supermarkets, airports and banks grind to a halt for 24 hours as most of the major unions joined the protest action against the government.

Milei, an economist and former media pundit, won a shock election last year pledging to fix with a "chainsaw" an economic crisis that snowballed under previous governments, leading to depleted reserves and triple-digit inflation. Many in Argentina still back his plans after so many years of turmoil. However, his pro-market stance and tough austerity medicine have hurt people's real salaries, pushed up already high poverty levels and seen economic activity tank at the start of the year.

Hugo Yasky, secretary general of the major CTA union, posted on X that the strike was against "a government that only benefits the rich at the expense of the people, gives away natural resources and seeks to eliminate workers' rights." The action is a test for Milei's government. It is looking to push a broad reform package, including divisive labor reforms, through the Senate after getting approval in the lower house despite only having a small minority in Congress.

The strike has seen flights suspended, ports paralyzed, and schools and universities with minimal functions. Markets will have reduced activity on Thursday, as banks will remain closed because their employees will go on strike. The government criticized the strike as unjustified and said it would simply hit people who wanted to work, something reflected on the quiet city streets in Buenos Aires.

"There are many people who want to work and obviously can't get there, so they get a day's pay deducted," said Walter Fernandez, 44, a worker in Buenos Aires, though he said he himself was managing to get in on his bicycle. Marcos Rivadero, a 47-year-old designer in the city, was more strident, calling the striking unions "extortionists".

"They use the people, the people they claim to represent," he said. "A ghost town, a city like this cannot function. A country cannot function like this with people who live off the state."

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