The strike occurs on the day when the Senate begins discussions on the Bases Law and the Fiscal Package.

Argentina will experience a busy day this Thursday (9), with a general strike scheduled and the beginning of discussions in the Senate on the Bases Law and Fiscal Package, already approved by the Chamber of Deputies. The strike led by the CGT labor union is the second large-scale one faced by the government of President Javier Milei, who took office in November last year.

It is forecasted that for 24 hours, no trains or subways, as well as several bus lines, will operate today throughout the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. The airports in the Argentine capital will also have operating restrictions, affecting approximately 93,000 people.

The strike occurs on the day when the Senate begins discussions on the Bases Law and the Fiscal Package, the government’s main projects to alter the foundations of the Argentine economy, seen as essential for the continuity of the Milei government. The project has already been approved in the Chamber of Deputies and now moves to the Senate, where it will be discussed before being voted on.

The government wants the project to be voted on as it came from the Chamber of Deputies, but it admits that changes may be made to the text to ensure approval, said the presidential spokesperson yesterday.

Today’s strike comes at a time of worsening conditions in the Argentine economy, such as the 54% devaluation of the peso in December and major cuts in public spending. Union leaders justified the strike as a way to protest against the cuts in public spending to achieve a fiscal surplus and to oppose the Bases Law. Groups opposing Milei’s proposals aim to pressure the Senate to reject the bills being processed in Congress.