General strike against President Milei’s austerity disrupts Argentina

Argentina’s trains and subways were disrupted, flights grounded, grain shipments interrupted, deliveries halted and banks shuttered as unions held a general strike Thursday against the libertarian government of President Javier Milei. The daylong strike comes as Milei is 16 months into a presidency that has sought to eliminate Argentina’s fiscal deficit through severe austerity measures. The stoppage — led by the country’s main union confederation, CGT — tried to bring Argentina to a standstill a day after union activists joined a weekly protest of retirees rallying for increases to their government pensions, most of which are now set at the equivalent of some $300 a month and have lost significant ground to inflation. Union members, including train conductors, teachers, customs officials, trash collectors and postal workers, walked off the job at midnight on Wednesday for 24 hours. Airports emptied as the main airlines halted operations. Many public hospitals were only dealing with emergencies. The government said the stoppage cost the economy some $880m.<br/>