(Bloomberg) — President Javier Milei will face his first general strike after just more than a month in office as Argentina’s top unions call for a nationwide protest against his plans to deregulate the country’s economy, change its voting system and reduce social safety nets.
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Workers will stop across the country on Jan. 24 to protest Milei’s measures, according to an announcement on Thursday from the CGT, one of Argentina’s oldest and most powerful union groups. They plan to take to the streets around congress in Buenos Aires to fight an “illegal” decree to deregulate the economy signed by the president last week, union leader Hector Daer said in a speech.
The strike will be the biggest test yet to Milei’s plans to reduce the hand of the state in Argentina’s crisis-prone economy. It is also the fastest called by CGT after the inauguration of a new president in the past 40 years, according to local media. The government on Wednesday sent to congress a wide-ranging bill with hundreds of proposals spanning from the elimination of Argentina’s primary elections to the privatization of 41 state-owned companies.
Read More: Milei Blitzes Argentina’s Congress With Far-Ranging Reform Bill
The bill, several hundred pages long, gives Milei additional powers to decide on economic policy throughout his term.
With less than a month in office, the new government is already facing a series of street protests after announcing the end of price controls, sharp spending cuts and a more than 50% devaluation of the Argentine peso.
The general strike by unions connected to the Peronist movement now in the opposition would also test the hard-line approach of Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, who recently announced a series of measures to limit protests and street blockades carried out without a permit.
Read More: Milei Moves to Limit Anti-Austerity Protests in Argentina
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