Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Plaza del Congreso on Wednesday to protest President Javier Milei’s economic agenda and demand lawmakers reject his sweeping deregulation bill.
From students to tenured union secretaries, demonstrators flooded the centre of Buenos Aires in large numbers to criticise the so-called ‘Omnibus bill’ with fervour.
They also called for striking down Milei’s emergency decree issued last month, which union leaders say hits working people in the pocket and strips them of rights.
“We believe that the DNU [emergency decree] and the measures that this government wants to carry out is a total surrender of national sovereignty,” said labour official Marcello Parienté in an interview.
Parienté is a union secretary for the Confederación General del Trabajo umbrella union grouping. Known by its acronym, the CGT is Argentina’s most powerful labour force with seven million affiliated workers.
The CGT has challenged the president’s proposed changes to labour legislation in the courts. Its leaders called Wednesday’s national strike, which took place less than two months after Milei took office.
“This is the beginning of a great struggle to put the brakes on this liberal government,” Parienté told the Times.
Ariana Rodríguez, a primary school teacher and member of Unión de Trabajadores de la Educación (Union of Education Workers, UTE), said she was there to demonstrate solidarity with working-class people.
“In my role as an educator, we say that a teacher who is struggling is a teacher who is teaching,” said the San Telmo resident.
“There are a lot of social sectors that are affected and harmed by [the Omnibus law] in terms of rights and also in economic matters… and those who end up suffering always have the least.”
Rodríguez, 24, came to the protest to defend the rights of all Argentines in the face of a deepening economic crisis. She said she hopes to change the minds of those who voted for Milei, though she empathised with critics of state intervention.
“Yes, I believe there are things to improve at the state level. We don’t dispute that,” she said. “But this is not the right way to cut it. We need a more efficient state, not less of the state.”
Uncertain future
Argentina is in the grips of a deep economic crisis, with inflation running at more than 211 percent per annum. More than 40 percent of the population lives in poverty.
President Milei and Economy Minister Luis Caputo have made sweeping reforms since taking office in December, slashing the size of government, lifting price controls and removing rent ceilings.
With consumer prices continuing to soar, many of those on the streets of Buenos Aires on Wednesday fail to see a bright future ahead.
Nicolás Benítez and Ignacio Volpa Hi both work while studying at National University Arturo Jauretche in Florencio Varela, around 25 kilometres outside the capital.
Benítez, a 25 year-old street vendor from Villa San Luis, left a job at a 24-hour convenience store six months ago to sell homemade pastries, in the hope of making more money.
“I thought I would be successful,” he said. “I was motivated.”
Soaring costs, however, have put a dent in his dream. Rising bread, wheat and sugar prices mean he sells half as much product as he used to, despite working longer hours.
Benítez wants to persevere but he admits he may have to find a different job. Public transport costs are rising, after the Milei government moved to slash government subsidies, forcing him to travel by bike instead of the bus, eating up time.
Volpa Hi is also struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. The 21-year-old recently moved back to his parents house in the countryside and now spends over two hours a day commuting to campus by bus.
“I don’t have enough time now to study and work,” he said. “My job and career are at stake.”
The student said that, in theory, he might agree with some of Milei’s plans. But he says it’s hard for the everyday citizen to adapt when the economy is in crisis.
“What hits citizens the hardest is the brutality of change,” he said.
The drastic nature of Milei's reform package compelled Brenda Machado, another UTE member, to take to the streets. The 36-year-old explained that Argentines are often unsure of what lies ahead, and protesting might be a step toward progress.
“In Argentina, we live by faith,” she said.
– With reporting by Martha Contreras
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