Argentina: Argentine union members and small business owners rallied outside the Industry Ministry in Buenos Aires on Thursday, calling for a change in the government's economic model and warning that industrial jobs were disappearing.
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) organised the protest to defend national industry, with its leader, Cristian Jeronimo, warning that the union would intensify its opposition unless the government changed course.
“We are not willing to give up our principles,” Jeronimo said.
Union leaders said declining industrial output and employment were occurring alongside high tax burdens, a sharp fall in investment, limited access to financing and expensive public utilities. They argued that these conditions had weakened living standards and placed particular pressure on small and medium-sized manufacturers, with job losses accelerating in the sector.
President Javier Milei came to power in late 2023 with strong support from lower- and middle-income voters frustrated by years of runaway inflation. His libertarian government has since sharply slowed price rises and stabilised public finances, but social organisations and aid workers say more Argentines are struggling to make ends meet.
Cuts to public-sector pay, the withdrawal of transport and utility subsidies, and relaxed import rules have placed additional pressure on households and some industries focused on the domestic market.
Milei's government maintains that its austerity drive is necessary to restore economic stability by eliminating chronic budget deficits, which it says have contributed to repeated economic crises and high inflation.