By Agencies
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Right-wing populist Javier Milei has been president-elect just four days and already Argentina’s unions and social organizations are vowing pushback and even protests if he makes good on his promises to slash the size of the state and privatize companies.
Milei, who famously campaigned with a revving chainsaw to demonstrate what he would do to public spending, says radical measures are needed to get the South American country’s moribund economy, back to life and reduce annual inflation of 140%.
The day after winning the election with a wider than expected margin, 56% to 44%, the libertarian said in a radio interview that “everything that can be in the hands of the private sector will be in the hands of the private sector.”
He has said he wants to privatize state-owned media companies and state-run oil and gas firms, and has raised the possibility of privatizing water distribution and train service, as well as ending all public works.
Labor union leaders said Thursday they are paying close attention to what the libertarian president-elect says and what they are hearing is in opposition to their interests.
“We clearly have as a central idea for the country development, with production and the creation of jobs, and it seems that all (Milei’s) affirmations about cuts in the economy, about privatizations and other things do not go down this path,” Héctor Dear, the secretary general of the powerful General Confederation of Labor umbrella organization, said following a meeting with labor leaders.
The most emphatic opposition so far to Milei’s privatization plans came from the head of the Airline Pilots Association, Pablo Biró, who said Wednesday that Milei “will have to literally kill us” to go through with his plan to change the ownership structure of state-owned airline Aerolineas Argentinas.S
Most labor leaders, however, have emphasized a wait-and-see attitude, saying they’re on alert but recognize Argentines voted for Milei and will wait for him to implement policies.
“In the moment they move forward with reforms related to labor rights, both individual and collective, and when the labor organizations affected by these adjustments request it, the CGT will take a stance,” Dear said.
Some, however, made clear the resistance has already started.
“We cannot wait to see if this man succeeds,” Daniel Catalano, secretary general of the State Workers’ Association, said during the march by the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. “We expect absolutely nothing from Javier Milei.”
Catalano was one of the representatives of labor unions and social organizations who joined the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in their weekly march in downtown Buenos Aires Thursday.
The weekly event by the human rights group made up of mothers of children who disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship (1976-1983) took on a different tone Thursday as groups called on supporters to join the mothers to symbolically represent opposition to Milei’s government.
MEXICO
Mexico’s Department of the Interior reportedly revoked funding on Friday for a conference on the government’s violent anti-insurgency policy from the 1960s to the 1980s, raising claims of censorship.
The conference had been scheduled to begin in two days time. Organizers said they were forced to cancel the event, which would have focused on the period known in Mexico as the “dirty war.”
The decision has caused confusion among academics, some of whom have accused the government of censoring debate about an infamously violent period of modern Mexican history.
There’s also concern among human rights organizations about a potential setback in policies that allowed for the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes against humanity.
The event, hosted by the Colegio de Mexico, would have included presentations from historians from the United Kingdom to Argentina, members of Mexico’s “dirty war” inquiry panel, and officials from the Department of the Interior itself.
One of the speakers, academic and human rights activist Sergio Aguayo, first announced the news on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, claiming a government official had expressed concerns to him that “enemies of the government” were participating in the conference.
“There are different points of view because that is why there is academic freedom,” Aguayo posted, calling the government’s decision “absurd.”
The government’s “dirty war” inquiry, which was co-organizing the event, later confirmed on social media that funding had been cut, and the conference was cancelled.
The Department of the Interior has not acknowledged the cancellation and did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
investigating historic crimes committed during the period when the government waged a campaign of violence against leftist guerillas, dissidents and social movements in the 1960s, 70s and ’80s.
They withdrew their inquiry last month, however, after discovering military officials were allegedly destroying, hiding and altering documents.
Even decades later, over 2,300 victims of the “dirty war” or their relatives are thought to be alive today, many still searching for justice, investigators announced in their latest findings.
