second general strike against ultraliberal president Javier Milei

A new mobilization is organized throughout the country against the austerity policy of the Argentine president. For 24 hours, there will be no trains, buses or metro in the capital Buenos Aires.

Five months of government, almost daily demonstrations… The streets in Argentina are raising their voices against ultraliberal President Javier Milei and his austerity program. A new general strike is organized in the country on Thursday May 9. For 24 hours, the capital Buenos Aires should be at a standstill. There will be no trains, no buses, no metro. Some 400 flights will also be canceled, affecting 70,000 passengers, according to the Latin American Air Transport Association.

Strike “against a brutal adjustment, in defense of labor and union rights, and a decent salary”, launched by several unions including the powerful Peronist CGT, promises to be followed. Much more than that of January 24 which lasted only 12 hours. It had been mocked by the government like the strike “the fastest in history” because it was announced only 18 days after the inauguration of Javier Milei.

Always strong support

The political impact of this strike could, however, be less important than the major marches in defense of the university on April 24, during which a million demonstrators mobilized. Eread as “providential man who arrived to resolve problems that the previous elites had left lying around”Javier Milei “retains in public opinion cores of support unscathed, or at least fairly solid”, analyze the political scientist Gabriel Vommaro.

In fact, despite a slight inflection in April, several recent polls see Javier Milei oscillating between 45 and 50% positive image. A form of spectacular stability for a leader who in a few months inflicted a devaluation, freed prices and public aid “cut off”. Either “the greatest adjustment in human history”as Javier Milei likes to remind us.

But economists, including liberals, are concerned about “after”. “Milei has (…) only one variable in mind: inflation”estimates Carlos Rodriguez, a former close friend of the new president. “The adjustment plan is simply to pay nothing, with these first months a reduction in costs in all sectors. But I don’t see a plan”. Beyond the strike, which does not seem destined to change the policy followed, it is difficult to predict which, a recovery or fed up, will be felt first.