Third general strike against Milei: "We can't go on like this any longer."

Buenos AiresThousands of workers in Argentina have joined the 24-hour general strike called by the unions that make up the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) this Thursday. Transportation has been the hardest hit sector, with a complete shutdown of trains, subways, taxis, and airplanes, while buses, key to the capital's mobility, have operated in the city of Buenos Aires. Public schools have opened normally, and some faculties at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) have held classes—online due to the transportation strike—such as the Law School. The Philosophy and Literature School—historically more militant—has suspended classes and closed its doors throughout Thursday. Small businesses and the private sector have generally not joined the strike.

It is the third strike in one year and five months of the ultra-liberal government of Javier Milei., who in 42 years of democracy is the president who was the fastest to call a general strike, only 45 days into office. While CGT leader Héctor Daer called the strike a "resounding success," Milei's government compared union leaders to "wild animals" who "when cornered, counterattack to survive."

As a prelude to the strike, thousands of people gathered on Wednesday in Buenos Aires' Congress Square in a demonstration seeking to show support for retirees at their weekly gathering to demand an increase in pensions, which have been reduced to subsidies under Milei's austerity plan. Ana María, 72, told ARA: "We can't go on like this any longer," and demands that the government "pass a pension law that allows us to live." She receives the minimum pension with the bonus implemented by the government, so her monthly income is 314,000 pesos, about 230 euros. Like so many other pensioners, Ana María has been forced to continue working: "Luckily I'm still well, I can work, I sew at home and that way I get some extra income, but the situation is unsustainable," and she calls on the workers who are currently active, that is, the "future retirees" who "...

"The Swindling Government"

In this sense, Soledad, a 46-year-old telephone operator, accompanies the pensioners' demonstration every Wednesday: "It's a more than fair demand, and it's very necessary that, as workers, we join them." She believes in the general strike as a measure of force, believing it to be "a powerful way to put our hand on the government" as well as "a message to the unions not to let everything they're letting happen." For months, various social and union organizations have been demanding from the CGT not only a general strike, but a sustainable plan of struggle, "until the swindler government of Milei is overthrown," they say.

"But we know the CGT has been collaborating with the government," says Soledad, distrustfully. Senior union officials in Argentina have been singled out by a large portion of the public for negotiating behind closed doors with the government leadership. Juan Carlos, 73, joins the criticism: "The CGT leaders sleep too comfortably," he says, "and they don't seem to realize the seriousness of the situation." He accuses them of being "hesitant and slow," and laments that "after the pandemic, such an unequal world has emerged," contrary to what he had hoped would happen: "I was completely wrong," he says, shaking his head.

Ariel is a port worker and a member of the CGT. He doubts that the strike will have any effect on government policies, "because these leaders are blind, deaf, and crazy," but he sees no other way out than "fighting in the streets for our rights, so we can eat until the last day of the month." He doesn't believe the macroeconomic figures that Milei and his Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, boast about: "They intend to control inflation with workers' salaries," while acknowledging that the CGT has been "too patient."

The strike in figures

According to a study by the Institute of Economics at the Argentine Business University (UADE), the general strike will have an economic impact of approximately 208.5 billion pesos, or approximately 173.5 billion euros. This figure represents 6.4% of what would have been generated in a single day of economic activity, with the most affected sectors being manufacturing, mining, and construction. The report explains that the impact will not be greater compared to previous strikes because the bus service in the capital has continued to operate, allowing for the mobility of workers within the city, which has not been the case with the Greater Buenos Aires, the metropolitan area, from where thousands of people enter and leave every day, usually by train, to go to work in the capital.