Ten days after Millay came to power, thousands of demonstrators opposed shock therapy on the streets.
2023-12-21 11:23:05
On December 10, Argentina’s new President Milai was sworn in. The next day, his government released relevant economic policies, which were described as “shock therapy” by the outside world, intending to carry out comprehensive economic reforms through significant cuts in public expenditures to save Argentina’s economy in chaos.
However, as many market participants had predicted, Milley’s policies as a democratically elected president may trigger a huge backlash.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday to protest against the government’s economic measures. The marchers started from Buenos Aires’s iconic Plaza de Mayo, but were blocked by police, with many staying on the sidewalk and occupying about half of the square.
Eduardo Belliboni, one of the organizers of the demonstrations, pointed out that the marchers faced great pressure to suppress. A large number of police officers were deployed at the event, but fortunately it was a peaceful mobilization and no large-scale confrontations broke out.
As the demonstrations drew to a close, organizers called on the country’s unions to declare a general strike.
Ahead of the protests, Milley’s newly appointed security minister Patricia Bullrich just last week proposed a public order agreement that would allow federal troops to prevent demonstrators from holding disruptive roadblocks.
However, some social organizations said that the agreement went too far and undermined people’s right to protest. On Tuesday, Argentinian labor, social and human rights groups signed a petition asking the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to moderate and annul the agreement, claiming it violated Argentina’s constitution.
mixed reviews
Wednesday’s protest was the first test for Milley and his government. Last week, the new government announced it would devalue the Argentine peso by 54%, cut subsidies and close half of government agencies. Milai said this was a necessary measure to resolve Argentina’s severe economic crisis.
As of now, Argentina’s annual inflation rate reaches 161% and the poverty rate is as high as 40%. At the same time, Argentina also owes high foreign debt, with $45 billion in debt to the International Monetary Fund alone to be repaid.
Some critics believe that Milai’s actions will only make Argentina’s situation worse. The Argentine government also admitted that the Argentine economy is still likely to continue to deteriorate in the coming months before rebounding.
Some residents in Argentina have begun to worry that neoliberal economics will lead to soaring prices in the short term. Some supermarket shelves have been cleared by customers, and supermarket chains have warned that the removal of government price intervention will lead to food suppliers and manufacturers to significantly increase the prices of already expensive products.
Although the response to Milley’s measures in Argentina has been negative, international observers believe that Milley’s policy intervention will bring optimistic results.
Analysts pointed out that Milley is sending a signal that Argentina will return to the normal pattern of the global order. And if Milais’ reforms ultimately prove effective, he will rewrite the entire history of Argentina, and even the history of many neighboring countries in Latin America.
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2023-12-21 03:23:05
