On the 24th local time, Argentine President Milai broke the country's record - facing the first nationwide strike 46 days after taking office. According to Argentina's "Page 12" report, Millay's radical reform plan came at the cost of a nationwide 12-hour strike and street protests. At the same time, the Argentine government was prepared to file a complaint with the court and request the cancellation of the strike on the grounds of "illegal demonstration".
"The Argentine people are not silent"
According to the Spanish EFE news agency, Argentina's largest trade union organization, the National Federation of Labor, convened a meeting on the 24th with the support of social organizations, political groups, small and medium-sized enterprises and the cultural and sports circles since 2019. The country's first national strike.
"Page 12" stated that Argentina ushered in a 12-hour "total paralysis" on the 24th, and large-scale demonstrations broke out across the country. According to the head of the Argentine National Workers Association, in Buenos Aires, various trade unions and social organizations plan to march from the headquarters of the Argentine National Federation of Labor to Congress at noon on the 24th local time, with the protest slogan " Don’t betray your country.” Ground and air transport services across Argentina are affected by the strike. The strike also has international support. Some international trade union organizations plan to hold protests in Montevideo, Madrid, London, Berlin, Paris and other places to support Argentina's general strike.
The trigger for the protests by Argentine President Milai
was the "Decree on Necessity and Urgency" and the "Omnibus Act" signed by Milai to comprehensively reform the Argentine economy after he came to power. On the 3rd of this month, Argentina’s National Labor Court of Appeal ruled to temporarily suspend the labor-related aspects of the reform.
Argentina's national news agency previously reported that the head of the National Federation of Labor said that Millay's reforms "are a brutal attack on vulnerable groups and workers, and the government is trying to deprive workers and pensioners of their rights." A well-known Argentine human rights organization "May Carloto, chairman of the "Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza", called on people to participate in the strike in an interview to "let the world know that the Argentine people are not silent."
Argentine presidential spokesman Adoni said that the strike "stands on the opposite side of history and workers." Millay himself said: "The strike on the 24th will show you two Argentinas, one is trapped in the past, and the other puts us on the road to becoming a developed country."
"Reforms stalled in Congress"
"Millay's Reforms have stalled in Congress and no consensus has been reached." Spain's El Pais reported on the 23rd that since the 9th of this month, the Argentine Congress has held special sessions for two weeks on the "Omnibus Bill" submitted by Milley. According to Argentina’s Clarion newspaper, in order to gain support from the opposition, the Milais government revised the Comprehensive Bill, deleting more than 140 reform items and retaining the final clauses at 523. The revised "Omnibus Bill" is scheduled to be submitted to Congress for review on the 25th.
According to reports, without a majority, Milai hopes to gain support from the country's center-right groups, including the Republic Program Party led by former President Macri, the centrist Radical Citizens Alliance, and others. However, Milai himself said on the 22nd: "We have not given up anything, we have just accepted some improvements."
reported that Milai agreed to shorten the two-year "state of emergency" to one year, and whether to extend it for another year The year depends on a congressional vote to also remove the national oil company from the privatization list. Millais also accepted pension reform, and the country will adjust pension amounts based on the monthly consumer price index from April. "Page 12" believes that the government revised the "Omnibus Bill" to please the opposition. To this end, Milley accepted the opposition's demand that the lifetime allowances of the president and vice president after leaving office be cancelled. However, Milley's "chainsaw" did not hit the Supreme Court judges. They can still receive lifetime allowances after leaving office. "The government hopes that the Supreme Court will abide by the tradition of 'reciprocity'."
Local governments issue their own currency
At the local government level, Milai also faces many obstacles.According to a report by Argentina's El Nacional on the 23rd, La Rioja Governor Quintela called on local people to take to the streets on the 24th to oppose Milai's management, and asked: "Who increased fuel costs, relaxed price controls, Cancel subsidies? It’s not the governor of this province anyway.”
In recent months, the local government represented by Gentla has been confronting Milai. On the 17th of this month, the La Rioja Provincial Legislature approved Quintera’s proposal to issue a “quasi-legal currency” worth 22.5 billion Argentine pesos (currently, 1,000 Argentine pesos is equivalent to about 8.7 yuan). This currency is called “gambling” Cad (short for debt cancellation bonds),” 30% of which will be used to pay the salaries of the province’s civil servants. Quintela blamed Milay's economic policies for causing inflation, forcing the province to freeze the salaries of civil servants, and mentioned that the central government still owed La Rioja some 12 billion pesos in allocations.
The Milai government has recently been warning local governments and opposition parties that if they do not support its reform policies, more stringent measures will be taken. However, according to "Page 12", the provincial governments responded: "Threats will only backfire."
Source: Global Times
