Argentina: call for a general strike on January 24 against the Milea reforms

For the first time in 40 years of democracy, the Argentine president had to face a general strike a month and a half after taking power. Argentina’s main trade union center, the CGT, called a general strike on January 24 to protest the first decrees and bills of the ultra-liberal president of the new president, Javier Miley.

Hector Dyer, general secretary of the CGT, which has 7 million members, announced at a press conference the strike and planned mobilization before parliament, which will then consider deregulation bills “that go against the whole of society” and concentrate “all government powers.” about the president.

The mobilization, the union leader continued, is aimed in particular at the “decree of necessity and emergency” published by the government on December 20, which opens the way to massive deregulation of the economy, but is “illegal and unconstitutional.” “This decree attacks the individual rights of workers, collective rights, the universal and uniform health care system and the countless entities that make up our country,” insisted Hector Dyer.

“In less than a week they are transforming Argentina and returning us to pastoral Argentina,” he condemned.

Pensions, demonstrations, tax laws, electoral laws…

Javier Miley, an ultra-liberal and “anarcho-capitalist” as he calls himself, following his inauguration on December 10, issued a decree deregulating the economy by eliminating some 300 standards. Technically, the decree comes into force on Friday, but is subject to further approval by parliament.

He also continued his “liberal” impulse, presenting to parliament on Wednesday a detailed set of drafts or amendments to laws affecting many areas of the public and private sphere: from financial to electoral, working days, calculation of pensions, control and sanctions of demonstrations or the establishment of “outright divorce” ” This sweeping package of reforms, known as the “omnibus bill”, must also be considered by Parliament, and legal opinions differ on the actual time – months, even years, some say – it will take to consider the roughly 600 articles.

Another question concerns the results of the parliamentary process itself on certain controversial provisions, when parliament does not have an absolute majority in either chamber. And where Miley’s party, Libertad Avanza, is only a third force – even if it can count on the support of the second most important center-right bloc.

Several demonstrations already

However, mobilization was not long in coming: in just over a week, three demonstrations took place in Buenos Aires, and several legal appeals were filed against the state of emergency decree of December 20. Including from CGT itself on Wednesday.

The first round of austerity measures announced in the early days of Miley’s presidency has already come into effect and has had an immediate impact on the wallets of Argentines. Thus, the devaluation of more than 50% of the peso, the national currency, and the reduction of transport and energy subsidies since the beginning of January, which led to an immediate increase in prices, must have affected the daily lives of several million Argentines.

The government’s goal is to sharply reduce Argentina’s chronic budget deficit, which has been mired in inflation of 160% for the year.