Already at the end of December, thousands of Argentines took to the streets during demonstrations called by the unions. A person holds up a sign saying “No to the DNU. Milei the traitor sells the fatherland”. Photo: Sindicato de choferes de Camiones via photopublicas.
(Madrid, 6. January 2024, the jump).- Javier Milei’s government is only a month old, but in Argentina there is a feeling that an eternity has passed. As he announced in his inaugural speech on December 10, Milei is currently carrying out a harsh shock adjustment for the Argentine people. Meanwhile, he prepares for the first meeting with the International Monetary Fund to address the shortage of foreign currency in the central bank’s coffers.
Drastic ultra-liberal plans
The strategy of the government of the political coalition La Libertad Avanza in the first four weeks has focused on overwhelming the Argentine population with a series of planned measures that are difficult to process. First, Economics Minister Luis Caputo announced a package that, among other things, envisages a drastic devaluation of the Argentine currency. As a result, the official dollar rate was increased by 118%, triggering a new surge in inflation. By the end of 2023, the inflation rate exceeded 170%.
Following the measures announced by Caputo, it was the President himself who promulgated the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) on December 21st. Above all, it aims at extreme deregulation of the Argentine economy. Among the changes introduced by the decree is a labor reform that aims to undermine the historic rights of workers. The government’s offensive was concluded at the end of the year with the passage of the so-called omnibus law (Ley Ómnibus) in Congress. This grants the economic elites new privileges and is intended to give President Milei more power. Article 3 of the Omnibus Law declares a “public emergency in the economic, financial, tax, social security, security, defense, tariff, energy, health, administrative and social sectors until December 31, 2025.” This means that the executive branch can make decisions unilaterally and to the exclusion of the legislature in all of these areas that affect the lives of millions of people.
Resistance from the judiciary and opposition
The Milei government’s ultra-reactionary plan is encountering initial resistance. One of them is developing in the field of justice. A judge at the Federal Administrative Court, Enrique Lavié Pico, used the summer break to process complaints about the unconstitutionality of the mega-decree issued by the national government. Milei actually wanted to delay this as long as possible by taking advantage of the vacation. The court ruling comes in addition to two interim injunctions already issued on January 3rd on the labor chapter of the decree, based on complaints from the General Confederation of Trade Unions (CGT) and the Argentine Workers Central (CTA).
This opens the possibility of new appeals and requests for suspension of other aspects or the entire DNU. Especially in relation to issues such as the repeal of the Rent Law, the liberalization of prices of private healthcare companies, the deregulation of the sale of medicines and other points that affect the institutions and interests of various economic, cultural and scientific sectors.
Meanwhile, the National Congress is experiencing another front of resistance after the start of the special sessions called by the government, which wants to advance the consideration of the omnibus law. On Thursday, January 4, the Liberal government, in agreement with the so-called “friendly opposition”, made up of the parties of the right-wing coalition Juntos por el Cambio JxC (Together for Change), managed to set up four committees of the Chamber of Deputies, which are intended to deal with the omnibus law: budget and finance, constitutional issues, general legislation and foreign affairs.
The opposition of the Peronist Unión por la Patria UxP (Union for the Fatherland) and the Trotskyist Left, made up of a bloc of five deputies, criticized the government’s authoritarianism in forming the committees. The biggest controversy erupted in the Budget and Finance Committee, where ultra-right MP José Luis Espert took control on the orders of the nation’s president.
Left Front MP and university professor Christian Castillo denounced that his microphone was cut off and he was not allowed to speak when he wanted to challenge Espert’s inauguration. He also pointed out threats of “jail or bullets” against his members.
Trade union mobilizations
Espert’s threats to the left-wing MPs were due to their participation in the popular mobilizations that now appear to be increasing in the country’s main urban centers. The cacerolazos [Form des lauten politischen Protests in Argentinien und anderen Ländern. Der Name (von 'cacerola' – Kochtopf) Die Demonstrant*innen machen Krach indem sie auf Topfdeckel, Pfannen etc. schlagen. Protestform, die in Santiago de Chile in den 70er Jahren erstmals in Lateinamerika dokumentiert wurde. Dort und auch in anderen Ländern wie in Argentinien in der ökonomischen Krise 2001 hat sich der symbolische Protest etabliert, um gegen leere Töpfe, Hunger und Armut verstärkende Politiken zu demonstrieren.
” href=” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{” attribute=”” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>cacerolazo, span. Topf, kommt daher, dass beim Protest vor allem durch das Schlagen auf mitgebrachten Töpfen und Pfannen Lärm erzeugt wird] which began in Buenos Aires, spread to major cities such as Rosario and Córdoba, the latter being repressed by local police. Meanwhile, the Confederación General del Trabajo CGT and Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina CTA unions confirmed the call for a 12-hour general strike on January 24 with a demonstration until the National Congress.
At the same time, in view of the layoffs of workers both in the national public administration and in the city of Buenos Aires and other provinces, some unions such as the Asociación de Trabajadores del Estado ATE (Association of Public Employees) have a battle plan with various demonstrations in the run-up to the general strike on 24. created. In addition, important sectors of culture, cinema, theater and music have begun to mobilize. Their rights are also being violated by the regulations sought by the Milei government. Several surveys show that the Argentine president’s positive image is increasingly declining. Some, like that of Zuban Córdoba [Agentur für Meinungsforschung und politische Kommunikation in Argentinien], are even predicting a decline of more than one point per day since he took office. The coming weeks will be crucial, as will developments at judicial and parliamentary levels. However, the future of the decree and the Milei government’s rigorous neoliberal course will depend above all on how strong the resistance is felt on the Argentine streets – and this is already mobilizing.
Translation: Mara Gutmann