The president said the austerity measures were due to a huge debt burden caused by years of overspending.
Argentina’s trade unions have launched a 12-hour strike in the capital to protest President Javier Millei’s tough economic reforms.
Wednesday’s demonstrations were the most serious demonstration of opposition to Mr. Milley’s spending cuts and privatization plans since he took office last month, promising to rebuild the economy to deal with 211% inflation.
The strike, coordinated by the umbrella trade union Confederation of Labor (CGT), comes as Millais’ two key reforms – an “omnibus” bill to be passed by parliament and a “mega-decree” to deregulate the economy – come under scrutiny. It was held in the middle of
“Mr. Millais wants a country where poverty and informal employment reach 90%,” union member and national opposition lawmaker Hugo Jaski told local radio station Radio Con Vos.
“There is no job creation right now. What we have now is widespread misery and human despair, and there is no way to alleviate the damage they are causing.”
Earlier Wednesday, the omnibus bill was approved by a House of Representatives committee.
The large-scale strike began at 12:00 pm (3:00 pm Japan time) and affected transport, banks, hospitals and public services.
Local airlines said they were forced to cancel hundreds of matches due to the demonstrations.
The demonstrators held placards reading “My country is not for sale” and “Eating it is not a privilege,” and some held giant Millais dolls.
Another posted: “Today’s retirees are yesterday’s workers. Stop robbing them!”
Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from Buenos Aires, said it was “impossible” to determine the number of participants given the scale of the protests.
“There appears to be a kind of informal agreement between the strikers and the security minister to allow huge numbers of people to stay, but only if they can’t block traffic,” Newman said.
“The situation remains very tense and continues to be so, but so far we have had a very good turnout.”
Millais’ government blamed the austerity measures on years of overspending that left the South American country heavily in debt to domestic and foreign creditors, including a $44 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.
“There is no attack to stop us. There is no threat that threatens us,” Patricia Bullrich, Milais’ security minister and former presidential rival, wrote to X.
“It’s mafia trade unionists, poverty managers, complicit judges and corrupt politicians, all defending their privileges and resisting the democratically chosen changes of society. .”
Millais, an economist and former television critic, became president after winning a shock victory in last year’s general election.