With the bridges of dialogue broken with the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and support in public opinion that exceeds 50% despite the depth of adjustment, Javier Milei tomorrow it faces its second general strike called by the labor union. It will take place 150 days – 4 months and 28 days – after his presidential inauguration. The measure of force will be a struggle between the Government and the unions with the objective of not only making visible their rejection of the adjustment plan that the libertarian is carrying out, but also using it as a element of pressure on the Senate to overturn the Bases Law. Especially about the Peronist and Kirchnerist legislators, with whom they have greater ideological affinity, but who also respond to the interests of their governors in need of resources. The official project that obtained half a sanction in the Lower House and began to be discussed this week in the Senate, includes a labor reform that resists unionism, despite having approved a watered-down version with respect to the original text.
Among the threats from the unionists to the representatives in the Upper House, the one made yesterday by the head of the Aeronautical Personnel Association (APA) stood out, Edgardo Llanos. Akin to Kirchnerism, he called to “shock” each of the senators who vote in favor of the law when they board an Aerolíneas Argentinas plane, one of the companies included as “subject to privatization” in the Bases Law.
He first general strike against Milei It had been January 24, so only 44 days after arriving at the Casa Rosada, with a strong speech against “caste”, in which he included union leaders. This measure by the labor union broke the record of having been called in the shortest period since the presidential inauguration of a president.
The two national measures of force of the labor union against the Milei government, in less than five months of administration, are added to the 26 called by the CGT against the three non-Peronist presidents ( Raul Alfonsin, Fernando de la Ruaand Mauricio Macri) who governed since the democratic return until last December 10. Total, the 28 stoppages – including tomorrow’s -, represent the 64% of the 44 carried out by the CGT. At an average of almost 7 general strikes per government.
Instead, the five Peronist leaders who were in the Casa Rosada since 1983 faced, in total, 16 general strikes (36%), to a ratio of just over 2 strikes per administration.
He average number of days until the first cegetista general strike is carried out It also shows a notable disparity between Peronist presidents (1,209 days) and non-Peronist presidents until last December (275 days), according to a report by the School of Government of the Austral University. With the first strike carried out against Milei in January, that average dropped from 275 to 218 days.
“From objective data, the union protest begins to resemble how unionism behaved against Fernando de la Rúa. The second strike was carried out 147 days after his administration began, that is, more or less during the same period of government as Milei. But from the context, it seems not to be comparable, because Milei retains popular support and unionism does not seem to be as strong as it was at that time,” he analyzed. Marcelo Bermolendirector of the Institutional Quality Observatory (OCI) of that university, before Infobae.
“This second strike is going to be stronger, more than anything, due to the accession of transportation and services. People are going to be captured by the measure of force. In these days, it was heard Pablo Moyano to say that the first strike in January had been a cessation of activities, in some way recognizing that it had been too fast and was not successful,” added this professor from the Austral School of Government. The CGT has already announced that it is confident that this strike will be “overwhelming”, and the Government quietly admits something similar.
“Unionism, inspired a little by the massive university march of April 23 and relying on the piquetero muscle of winning the streets, will seek to make a show of force. Not only in the face of the economic situation, which is serious and is generating greater support than in the first strike, but more than anything to put pressure on the Senate so that the basic law falls or, at least, is modified and has to return to the Chamber of Deputies, where it should be ratified by two-thirds of the votes, something difficult to achieve. Therefore, the threats to the senators that we heard from the union members,” said Bermolén.
And in that sense, he considered that “reality ended up proving right” to unionism and its pressure actions, since “it obtained precautionary measures from Justice” and the annulment of the DNU in the Senate. “They had already managed to remove Banco Nación from the privatizable companies included in the Bases Law, and managed to reduce the labor reform from 60 articles to 15. So, when the high-sounding declarations of unionism are analyzed and the facts are compared, it seems that achieve some degree of effectiveness with threats and pressure. This Thursday’s strike is part of this framework.”
Since the democratic return, the president who faced the greatest number of CGT strikes was Alfonsin, a total of 13 in his five and a half years in office, which culminated in the midst of hyperinflation and a strong economic deterioration. The first of that record took place in the eighth month of his mandate, on September 3, 1984, 269 days after taking office. The last one, 10 months before handing over the band in advance to Carlos Menem. They were all promoted by the then head of the workers’ union, Saul Ubaldiniwho led a tough opposition to the radical president, based on his frustrated attempt to democratize the unions with the so-called “Mucci Law”, by the first Minister of Labor of Alfonsinism, Antonio Mucci.
At the other end, Alberto Fernandez took the record of being the first Peronist president to complete his mandate of 1,460 days without general strikesdespite his political weakness and the critical economic situation caused by his government.
In the CGT strike ranking, Alfonsín is followed by From the Rua with 8 measures of force in the two years that his mandate lasted. The radical had to leave power in the midst of the acute economic and social crisis of December 2001. The first measure of force was in the third month of his government, after 77 days. The former president also faced strong union opposition for his economic measures and the labor reform project that ended with the scandal of the so-called “Banelco Law”, which involved the payment of bribes in the Senate to seek its approval.
His successor, Menem, also faced 8 general strikes, and became the Peronist president with the most measures of this type to his credit, although they were carried out throughout the 10 years he was in power. Four strikes took place in his first term of 6 and a half years, and the other 4, in his second presidency of 4 years. However, the Rioja president managed to govern 1,221 days without forceful measures from the union centers, which took more than three years and four months to confront him with a strike. That first strike called by the CGT during Menemism was on November 9, 1992, against its economic policy.
Cristina Kirchner and Macriparadoxically, suffered the same number of strikes organized by the CGT: five each. But the former president finished her first term unscathed. The ones she faced were all hers in her second period, starting with her breakup with the head of Truckers, Hugo Moyano, promoter of these forceful measures, and convened by the CGT Azopardo, the CGT Azul y Blanca and the CTA Autonomous. The first – 1,808 days after his arrival at the Casa Rosada – was on November 20, 2012, in rejection of the Income Tax and demanding an increase in pensions and allowances.
In the case of the PRO leader, a year and almost four months passed from his inauguration until he faced the first general strike of the five that the labor union would carry out.
In the ranking of general strikes by presidency, then follows Eduardo Duhalde with two measures of this type in the year and 5 months that he was in the Casa Rosada.
Thus, while Macri had 5 strikes in 1,461 days of government (on average, one strike every 292 days), Duhalde had 2 in 509 days (one strike every 292 days of administration) and became the Peronist president with the worst average, of according to data collected by the School of Government of the Austral University. However, all Peronist governments had fewer strikes in proportion to the days in government than non-Peronist governments.
Nestor Kirchner faced just a CGT strike about the end of his mandate, on April 9, 2007. But it was not against his economic policy, marked by the economic growth of the first years, but against the death of a Neuquén teacher. The murder of Carlos Fuentealba in a claim against the provincial governor managed to unite the two union centers that were in conflict at that time, the CGT of Moyano and the CTA of Hugo Yaskysomething that has not happened since the Menem era.
Bermolén focused on “the destabilizing factor that causes union hostility, marked by the early call for general strikes – and the number that are carried out – against non-Peronist presidents. To the point that two of the three predecessors of that trend who preceded Javier Milei in office did not finish their terms.”
“It is evident that union activity materialized in more frequent and more severe strikes for governments of different signs, explain a portion of the historical difficulties in governing that non-Peronist presidents have encountered. In fact, Mauricio Macri was the only one who was able to complete his mandate, after the failed efforts of De la Rúa and Alfonsín,” added this specialist in institutional quality and electoral transparency of Austral.
Views: Daniela Czibener
