Recently Javier Milei — an ultra-right wing, Zionist, and anti-worker figure — was elected president in Argentina. Within his first 30 days in office, Milei used incredibly authoritarian measures to unleash a huge attack on the Argentinian working class, indigenous people, and the right to protest. The over 300 measures Milei is attempting to force through include firing 5,000 workers, massive cuts to social spending, criminalizing the right to protest, privatizing industry, and more.
His administration is closely tied to the interests of U.S. imperialism, as his austerity program is meant to make workers pay for Argentina’s debt to imperialist financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As part of his program, he is opening Argentina even more to U.S. investments, and signaling that Argentinian land is open for the U.S. to exploit and extract lithium, which is an attack on indigenous people and their land.
In the middle of the on-going genocide in Palestine, Milei proudly wraps himself in Israel’s flag and follows the U.S. in attempting to move the Argentinian embassy to Jerusalem. In this sense, Milei is strengthening Zionism all over the world and especially in Latin America.
As part of the intensifying situation in Argentina and to fight back against Milei’s attacks, workers are organizing a historic general strike on Wednesday, January 24. As we’ve been covering on our pages, workers, women, and youth in Argentina have already been organizing assemblies, cacerolazos, and protests but Wednesday’s general strike is expected to be the most massive action since Milei assumed his presidency.
To discuss the political situation in Argentina and the interventions of the revolutionary left, Left Voice is hosting an online panel on Sunday, January 21, at 2:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM PT with two leaders of Left Voice’s sister group in Argentina, the Party of Socialist Workers (PTS): Fer Scolnik, an editor for La Izquierda Diario (a sister site of Left Voice) and Raul Godoy, a worker who led the historic struggle at Zanon, a factory under workers’ control since 2001.
Sign up here to participate in the event.
In addition to the event, Left Voice is joining organizations around the world, including the organizations of the Trotskyist Fractions to build solidarity on January 24 with the general strike against Milei. Actions are being called all over the world, in front of consulates and embassies of Argentina in rejection of Milei’s policies. Protests will be held in France and the Spanish State, where important trade unions have joined the call to denounce Milei. In Latin America and countries like Chile, the union of the multinational Starbucks will join left organizations in solidarity with the Argentinian struggle. In North America, from Canada to Mexico, there will also be actions.
It is especially important for us in the U.S. to mobilize as we are in the belly of the imperialist beast — in the country that keeps Argentina under its imperialist boot. Anti-imperialists, socialists and internationalists must mobilize in solidarity with the general strike and fight against U.S. imperialism which architects genocides and imposes debt on workers in countries throughout the world.
In New York City, we are organizing a broad solidarity action at the Argentine embassy, against Zionism, attacks on workers, attacks on land, and against the far-right Milei at 4 pm on Jan 24. We invite you to attend with your pots and pans and for your organization to co-sponsor. Already CUNY4Palestine, Workers Voice, El Hormiguero, Freedom Socialist Party, Healthcare Workers for Palestine, Tempest, Within Our Lifetime and others are signed on to endorse. Reach out to us if your organization would like to join this list.
Down with Milei’s attacks and the IMF! Solidarity with the Argentine general strike!
