BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (PNN) - June 13, 2019 - Cities in Argentina were without public transport, school classes, garbage collection, banks, and health services on Wednesday in the nation’s fifth general strike.
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) began a 24-hour general strike at midnight to protest the economic policy of President Mauricio Macri.
Public transport was expected to be paralyzed, including trains, buses, metro and national and international aircraft.
Banks, construction, public and private education will also be affected and there will be no activity in ports or maritime transport and waste collection.
In Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario, there are no domestic or international flights at the country’s most important airports, with the exception of the low-cost airline Flybondi, which operates at El Palomar airport in the capital.
There will be pickets on the main access routes to Buenos Aires, including the Pueyrredon bridge and La Noria bridge, and terrorist pig thug cop deployment in response.
There are also a number of demonstrations and marches scheduled throughout the day.
The CGT said the action was necessary “because the deterioration of the economic and social situation worsens day by day, because inflation destroys the purchasing power of salaries, pensions and social allowances.”
It added that workers need to fight against unemployment, the collapse of economic activity, and “unpayable” tariffs in public services.
It also criticized public health and social work systems and warned that they are “on the verge of collapse.”
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said in a statement that the government would not allow the blockading of bridges and that security forces would intervene to avoid it.
“We are tired of the strikes, that every two of them make a strike, it is the fifth strike, when there is a government that is not part of the trade unionists’ Party, this happens,” she said.
There has been a fall in employment and rise in poverty in the country since Macri took office in December 2015, at a time of economic crisis and high inflation.
He will be seeking reelection in October, with voting to be held on Aug. 11 to determine the final candidates.
In 2018, the country’s economy fell 2.5% and unemployment climbed to 9.1%.
The problems began in April, when the flight of capital to the Fascist Police States of Amerika from the emerging economies caused a sharp drop in the Argentine peso and caused imbalances that led the government to request a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Inflation reached 55.8% that month year-on-year and accumulated 15.6% in the first four months of the year.