National strike paralyzes Argentina amid economic woes
Argentine unions held a national strike Wednesday, forcing banks to shut their doors, airlines to ground flights and a soccer final to be postponed amid growing anger over President Mauricio Macri’s economic management.
Argentina’s biggest labor union federations, the CGT and CTA, launched the one-day strike as Macri faces a backlash months before a presidential election in October.
While the CGT and CTA did not call for demonstrations, numerous marchers were injured by rubber bullets.
Many Argentines are upset over a sharp recession and rising prices for food and utilities. Inflation in April hit 56%, among the highest in the world, while the economy shrank 6.2% in March from the same time last year.
Since the recession began following the collapse of a 2016-17 carry-trade debt bubble, some 283,000 registered jobs have been lost as of February - equivalent to 2.1 million jobs lost in the U.S.
Today's general strike was the sixth since Macri was elected in late 2015 on promises to jump-start sluggish growth with tax cuts and deregulation.
Critics note that his policies have instead led to a massive debt crisis, an IMF bailout, and the deepest recession since the 2001-02 collapse.
At: https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-strike-paralyzes-argentina-amid-economic-woes-11559160328
"Because there's no other way," a sign posted by bank workers announcing today's general strike overlooks a quiet scene during a normally hectic weekday in Buenos Aires' financial district.
Macri's economic policies, which first created a financial bubble in 2016-17, followed by a collapse and a hike in interest rates to over 70% to help stymie capital flight, have been blamed for a sharp rise in layoffs and business failures over the last year.
Elections this October show opposition candidate Alberto Fernández defeating Macri by around 11%.
