Argentines strike against Javier Millei’s government’s spending cuts

A general strike against public spending cuts has affected much of Argentina, with schools, banks and many shops remaining closed.

Train and subway services were suspended Thursday, with limited bus service.

Hector Daher, one of the main trade union leaders, said the 24-hour strike was a wake-up call for President Javier Millay.

Daher urged a review of some of the cuts to subsidies and social programs.

Millais, a right-wing economist who campaigned with a chainsaw to signal her intention to cut public spending, has begun implementing sweeping austerity measures since taking power in December. .

He said the measures were necessary to reduce Argentina’s public deficit and curb the country’s inflation rate, which is the highest in the world at nearly 300% annually.

The president criticized the strike, saying the government had already made many concessions to unions.

His government has touted some successes since taking office, with officials noting that inflation has fallen in recent months. But critics say the downturn in economic activity has come at a cost.

A government spokesperson described the strikes as “purely political” and said they were “damaging and complicating the lives of many people”.

But unions accuse Mr Millais’ cuts of doing the same.

“Far from being sustainable, [the cuts are] “We are pushing all segments of the population into extreme conditions to the point where they will hardly be able to recover if this continues,” Daher said, according to Diario Democracya newspaper.

Other union leaders vowed to continue collective action if Argentina’s government refuses to ease some of the measures.

Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen, who grew up in Argentina, told RTVE that he felt Millay was a “clown” whose government had been a “complete disaster” for the Argentine people.

However, although the strike primarily affected public services, many businesses remained open, and some expressed anger over the strike.

“Sales are down and this is hurting us,” bingo vendor Cacho told El Tribuno in Salta, northwestern Argentina. “We have to work. We walked 20 blocks.” [to] Please come downtown. ”

“There were almost no passengers,” a Buenos Aires taxi driver told reporters in Tennessee. “If I don’t work all day, I can’t eat.”

Despite the opposition to his measures, polls show that Millay remains popular with Argentines. Recent surveys show his approval rating hovering around 45-50%, just short of the 56% vote he received in the election.

In a recent interview with the BBC, he denied that ordinary people were paying the price for the cuts themselves, insisting that “the most regressive tax that hurts people the most is inflation.”

Mr Millais expressed pride in the fact that government spending was lower than tax revenue for the first time since 2008, but said: “There is no magic and real life takes time.”

“What would have been the alternative? To continue printing money like the previous administration, which would cause inflation and ultimately affect the most vulnerable?”

His predecessor, the left-wing Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, said the layoffs in the wake of the strikes were a “wasteful sacrifice of the people.”