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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <font
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href="https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Unions-Bring-Argentina-to-a-Standstill-As-Macri-Meets-Bankers-20180925-0002.html">https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Argentina-Central-Bank-Chief-Resigns-Amid-National-Strike-20180925-0001.html</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Unions Bring Argentina to a Standstill
As Macri Meets Bankers<br>
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<div class="reader-estimated-time">25 September 2018 </div>
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<p>On Tuesday at midnight, Argentina’s General
Confederation of Workers (CGT) began its 24-hour general
strike against Mauricio Macri’s austerity policies. On
Monday, the Argentine Workers’ Central Union (CTA)
launched a parallel 36-hour strike with the support of
several smaller unions, neighborhood associations, and
social movements to reject the government’s social and
economic policies.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong><em>RELATED: <br>
<a
href="https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Argentinas-Largest-Labor-Union-Begins-36-Hour-Strike-Against-Macris-Austerity-20180924-0009.html">Argentina's
Unions Begin National Strikes Against Macri’s
Austerity</a></em></strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Macri has faced massive protests and four national
strikes. In June, shortly after the government agreed on
a US$50 billion emergency loan with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), the CGT and several other unions
paralyzed the country to reject the agreement and the
austerity measures that accompany IMF loans. </p>
<p>The strike organizers succeeded, with images showing a
desolate Buenos Aires and paralyzed country. On Tuesday
morning the streets were empty, train and bus stations
were closed and most flights to and from Ezeiza and
Jorge Newbery airports were canceled. Public schools
have suspended classes, public hospitals are only
receiving medical emergencies, and banks will not open
their doors.</p>
<p>"Either this economic model falls or these people leave
the government," Pablo Micheli of the CTA said Monday.</p>
<p>Campesinos are also participating in the protests. "The
Campesinos struggle against the neoliberal austerity of
the Cembiemos government. #GetOutIMF #GeneralStrike
#EnoughHunger #PopularAgrarianReform #WorkersUnity," the
Union of Landless Rural Workers - Via Campesina
tweeted. </p>
<p>Argentina’s workers are demanding collective bargaining
that corresponds to the loss of purchasing power due to
increasing inflation, the suspension of <a
href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Over-4000-Layoffs-a-Month-in-2018-in-Argentina-Report-20180712-0014.html">layoffs</a>,
and the declaration of a food emergency to counter the
effects of the economic crisis.</p>
<p>They also want to stop the approval process for the
2019 national budget, which according to them
would deepen social austerity.</p>
<p>We need “a change in course,” Hector Daer, a member of
the CGT’s Directive Council argued, saying
the government needs to correct its current economic
policy. Macri “must understand that he doesn’t only need
to be accountable and bear good news for financial
speculators and IMF authorities,” Daer told local media
outlet Pagina 12. </p>
<p>On Monday, CTA's Hugo Yasky warned they will "remain in
the street until they change the economic policy,
layoffs stop, and our rights are recognized." He also
criticized president Macri, saying "his knees must be
numb, we are standing while he kneels before the IMF."</p>
<p>In New York, Monday, Macri confirmed he will seek
re-election next year. The announcement was made during
a lunch meeting with representatives of Citi Bank,
Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, and UBS. Macri also met
Donald Trump during a cocktail he threw for allies who
attended the United Nations General Assembly, he dined
with IMF chief Christine Lagarde.</p>
<p>The Argentine government is in the middle of
negotiations with the IMF for an extension of the US$50
billion emergency loan despite the fact that the
president is being <a
href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Argentina-Macri-Faces-Prosecution-Over-IMF-Deal-20180905-0005.html">prosecuted</a>
over the IMF deal. </p>
<p>As Argentines protest Macri's austerity measures, the
Washinton D.C.-based think-tank Atlantic Council
celebrated Macri and awarded him with the Global Citizen
award for his "tireless dedication" and "commitment to
economic reform and revitalization and renovation to
relations with international partners."</p>
<p>As part of Macri's participation in the U.N.
General Assembly, he is scheduled to hold a meeting with
recently-elected Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel,
and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. </p>
<p>On Tuesday, the president of Argentina's Central Bank,
Luis Caputo, <a
href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Argentina-Macri-Faces-Prosecution-Over-IMF-Deal-20180905-0005.html">resigned</a>
from his post. He is the second person to resign from
this post during Macri's presidency. </p>
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