VOA News | Thursday, January 25, 2024 
General Strike Grips Argentina as Foes Try to Derail President’s Austerity Agenda

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A one-day general strike was called Wednesday in Argentina to protest libertarian President Javier Milei’s decree targeting unions as well as his proposals for economic and labor law changes, showing that his opponents are wasting no time in trying to derail his austerity agenda. The biggest union, known by its initialism CGT, organized the strike and was joined by other unions. Strikers took to the streets in the capital, Buenos Aires, and other cities across the country, joined by social groups and political opponents, including the Peronist party that dominated national politics for decades. Until his presidential run, Milei, an economist, was known mostly for his televised screeds against the political caste, and he secured victory last year by a wide margin and took office just over a month ago. A self-declared “anarcho-capitalist,” he pledged a drastic reduction in state spending aimed at shoring up a government budget deficit that he says is fueling red-hot inflation, which finished 2023 at 211%. On December 20, Milei issued a decree that would revoke or modify hundreds of existing laws so as to limit the power of unions and deregulate an economy featuring notoriously heavy state intervention. A court ruling has put the labor on hold…Read more