Argentinian unions plan to fight against Javier Milei’s radical reforms

Left-wing pressure groups and trade unions in Argentina have promised to thwart the reforms of the country’s new libertarian leader after he swept to victory in elections last week.

Javier Milei, a Right-wing populist famed for wielding a chainsaw on the campaign trail, has pledged radical economic reform for Argentina, including mass spending cuts and privatisation of public services.

Mr Milei, 53, is a proponent of Margaret Thatcher-style “shock therapy” for Argentina, which is struggling with a looming recession, record poverty and an inflation rate of 143 per cent.

But the policies of Mr Milei, who is so strongly in favour of the free market that he supports people selling their own organs, have riled Argentinian trade unions – who have vowed a strong response.

Left-wing campaign groups are also reportedly planning protests against Mr Milei’s government, in a move that risks bitter, Trump-style division on the streets of Argentina.

Argentinian trade unions acknowledge that Mr Milei was democratically elected, but suggested they would take whatever action they can to block his economic reforms.

“We cannot wait to see if this man succeeds,” Daniel Catalano, the secretary general of the State Workers’ Association, told the Associated Press. “We expect absolutely nothing from Javier Milei.”

One senior trade union figure, Pablo Biró of the Airline Pilots Association, warned Mr Milei “will have to literally kill us” if he hopes to achieve his goal of changing the ownership of national airline Aerolineas Argentinas.

The new Argentine leader has also called for the privatisation of Public TV, the country’s version of the BBC, branding it Left-wing propaganda.

“We clearly have a central idea for the country development, with production and the creation of jobs, and it seems that all [Milei’s] affirmations about cuts in the economy, about privatisations and other things do not go down this path,” warned Héctor Dear, the head of the General Confederation of Labor [CGT], a powerful trade union federation.

“In the moment they move forward with reforms related to labor rights, both individual and collective, and when the labor organisations affected by these adjustments request it, the CGT will take a stance,” he added.

It came as Argentine former central banker Luis Caputo, who is widely tipped to be Mr Milei’s new finance minister, met with top bank officials on Friday to lay out their vision for the country.

“Our approach is fiscal and monetary shock from day one. The roadmap is orthodox and without crazy things,” Mr Caputo reportedly told banking representatives.

The president of ADEBA, a local banking association which attended the meeting, appeared to have been impressed by Mr Caputo.

“It was a meeting in which we exchanged opinions on the challenges of the economy and the way to address them,” Javier Bolzico, president of ADEBA, told Reuters news agency.

“The meeting was very positive, Caputo emphasised fiscal balance as the basis of the model and a comprehensive and market approach to the [central bank’s] remunerated liabilities. Caputo’s vision gave us peace of mind and confidence.”

Mr Milei has shown few signs that he will relent on his leadership agenda, which has been heaped with praise from former US president Donald Trump and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

“There is no room for gradualism, there is no room for lukewarmness or half-measures,” Mr Milei said after his election victory. “There is no way back.”