General strike: Streets without cars, streets full of people
On the 25th of August masses went on the streets of Argentina. In the wake of new deals with the IMF the biggest syndicate organization in the country, the CGT (Confederación General del Trabajo), called out for a general strike, the fourth of its kind during president Macri's time in office. This strikes are taking place during a deep economic crisis, which the country faces. A fast devaluation of the national currency and a drastic spike in poverty are some of the most predominant effects felt.
As it's always the case, the Argentinian state is looking to save the economy and not the people, something which can be seen in the cuts of public spending. Furthermore, the deals to be struck with the IMF (a 50 billion USD loan) will see a lot of privatization, especially of natural resources such as water, lithium and various other valuable resources, making Argentina more oppressed of foreign capital such as the USA, who supports the IMF deals whole-heartedly.
Because of the worsening conditions and the obvious antisocial reforms of the government, the CGT called out for a general strike, with some exceptions such as hospitals (in cases of extreme emergency), schools and banks (not open all day). The results were astonishing. The roads remained empty. No private or public transportation could be seen. Even the planes remained on the ground at the airport. On other streets, the people came together and made themselves heard. Thousands of thousands of people filled the streets shouting and holding banners. And as was to be expected the police was there to clash with protesters.
The people of Argentina are ready to go the long way to stop these asocial reforms. Their succesful general strikes so far have shown that the working population is capable of working together on a national level (which is quite a feat in the second biggest country in South America). While general strikes are a really useful and effective tool for having the people's demands met, the fight should not stop there. These strikes set forth the perfect conditions to develop these fights to a new level, to go from the defensive into the offensive. What the Argentinian people need is to organize under the principle of trusting in one's own power and developing leadership from within the oppressed masses. It is under a red leadership that these strikes and protests will bring the change that is much needed in a country spiraling more and more into poverty and foreign oppression, on the way of newdemocratic revolution!
