Thousands of members of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Argentine Workers’ Central (CTA), and the CTA-Autónoma marched on Wednesday in support of senior citizens and members of social organizations in their usual Wednesday demonstration in front of Congress, which remained fenced off.

This is the third general strike held by these organizations during President Javier Milei’s administration. The first two took place on January 24 and May 9, 2024.

Today’s strike is taking place in a context marked by the layoffs of thousands of workers, the continuation of a severe austerity measure, the interruption of public works, increasing poverty, the repression of protesters, and the government’s search for a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The CGT issued a statement stating that the strike was organized to denounce intolerable social inequality and demand that the government address citizens’ demands for better incomes and a dignified life for all. “We are facing a government that is insensitive to the problems of the people, that carries out acts of savage and unjustified repression, constantly violates institutional agreements, defunds education and health care, abandons public works, shows contempt for minorities, imposes stricter penalties on retirees, and imposes limits on collective bargaining,” the statement says.

The CGT also demands an increase in salaries and pensions, an end to actions to prevent social protests, an increase in the budget for education and the healthcare system, an end to layoffs, and the strengthening of national industry.

“We reject the privatization of Banco Nación, Aerolíneas Argentinas, and all threatened public companies. We demand a foreign policy aligned with national interests, the unrestricted defense of the territory, and the vindication of our sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands (…) We repudiate any automatic alignment with foreign policies and decisions and the conditions imposed by the IMF,” the union declared.

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