The Association of State Workers (ATE), the main union representing public sector employees in Argentina, is leading a series of protests in response to the government’s massive layoffs led by the ultra-liberal Javier Milei.
ATE criminals seized the Ministry of Labor by force.
They used the WOMEN as a shock force against the police and broke the siege.
They are also on STOP after the XXL weekend. pic.twitter.com/PnieHpDMTx— Libertarian Public Television (@Tv_Libertaria) April 3, 2024
ATE demonstrators mobilize in front of the headquarters of several public organizations. Some of these were dismantled by the Argentine executive as part of its savings and austerity plan. The headquarters affected include the Chancellery (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the National Meteorological Service, the Ministry of Labor and the now-defunct National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (Inadi).
The protests included the “taking over of buildings,” as happened in the Inadi building, where protesters entered the facilities to express their discontent. Rodolfo Aguiar, Secretary General of the ATE at national level, shared a video on social networks showing significant police operations in public buildings and denounce the oppression:
“Public offices are filled with police officers. There is no money to buy food, there is no money to buy medicine, but there is money to suppress.”
Ministry of Education, ATE Gnocchi plays the bass drum… pic.twitter.com/6Nn0UGkmPY
– Doctor House (@Bobmacoy) April 3, 2024
In response, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said: explained that any action that violates the law will result in legal consequences. Adorni explained that the decision was made in March not to renew 15,000 public contracts, which led to tensions with unions and demonstrations in various sectors.
ATE and other major unions in Argentina have expressed their opposition to Milei’s economic policies and have carried out various protest activities, including strikes and mobilizations at various workplaces. The next violent action is planned for tomorrow, Thursday, when the Confederation of Education Workers of the Argentine Republic (CTERA) calls for a general strike by teachers across the country, in which the Adorni threatened that teachers who took part in the strike would have their day taken away.
dmr