Argentina saw a full-scale disruption on Thursday when the country’s largest labor unions called for a 24-hour general strike in opposition to President Javier Milei’s broad austerity policies. The stoppage, which hit trains, airports, and docks, highlighted mounting popular opposition to the libertarian president’s aggressive spending cuts agenda.
In Buenos Aires, the normally crowded capital was unusually deserted, although public buses still ran. Banks and schools were closed, while hospitals and government offices operated with skeleton staff. The strike came after days of disturbances, including a protest by pensioners outside Congress on Wednesday, where protesters denounced drastic reductions in retirement benefits.
Rodolfo Aguiar, head of the ATE Nacional union, invoked Milei’s now-infamous “chainsaw” metaphor for budget cuts, saying, “After this strike, they have to turn off the chainsaw. There’s no more room for cuts.”
Unions are demanding the rehiring of fired public workers, renewed salary negotiations, and abandoning plans for privatizing state-owned companies. The effects of the strike were evident, with trash piling up on city streets and polarized opinions in the public.
“Strike rights are necessary. There should be more because this government is not viable,” Hugo Velazquez, 62, said. Others, such as 33-year-old Lucas Edezma, were worried about the disruption to daily life, particularly for those who depend on hospital care.
In Argentina’s grain-exporting port city of Rosario, port activity was suspended. The nation is a major international supplier of soybean oil, meal, corn, and wheat. The aviation industry also went on strike, protesting massive layoffs and economic struggle under the regime of Milei.
Unions continue to demand wage realignments to keep up with inflation and fight plans to privatize national carrier Aerolineas Argentinas, pointing to increasing poverty and runaway debt under the current government.
