The first week of the presidency of Javier Miley – a radical liberal economist who promised a radical break with the political and economic system in place in Argentina in recent decades – allowed us to preview what the future of the South American country could look like during his rule. His mandate. In addition to the shock therapy that Miley considers necessary to cure the ills of the national economy, strict control of the streets is added, which worries the United Nations.
Without wasting much time, Miley announced in the first few days the first economic measures that he intends to implement to confront the rapid inflation that Argentina is suffering from. The Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, announced a 50% devaluation of the peso against the dollar, suspended most public investments, reduced social support for transport and energy, reduced the number of public employees as well as promised to increase taxes. .
The goal of Miley’s shock therapy, which was not surprising to anyone who listened to him during the presidential campaign, is to control inflation as quickly as possible, which has reached 150% compared to last year, and reduce public debt.
The first austerity measures taken by the new Argentine government had an almost immediate impact on the lives of Argentines. Markets reacted calmly and optimistically to the promise of a balanced budget. But citizens woke up in the middle of the week to an explosion in the prices of meat, transportation fees, fuel, and airline tickets, according to what the newspaper reported. El Pais. Over the past few days, there have been stores in Buenos Aires that have not set prices, awaiting new increases.
Miley has promised to increase some social support for those who need it most, but there are widespread fears that the share of Argentines living below the poverty line – currently around 40% – will rise in the near future. “The outlook for the real economy is bad,” he said. El Pais Economist Leandro Moura Alfonsin.
The austerity measures caused an uproar among unions and union movements, which criticized the new government. The Trabalhadores Central General Centre, the largest union center in Argentina, met urgently during the week and Maile warned that it “will not stand idly by.” There are already calls for a general strike and a popular rally is scheduled to be held in Praça de Mayo on the 20th of this month.
Anti-protest laws
However, anticipating a possible popular backlash in the streets of Argentine cities against the economic measures, Miley’s government also announced, around the same time, a new protocol for dealing with demonstrations.
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, the presidential candidate who lost in the first round, issued new rules allowing a tougher crackdown on protests blocking traffic routes. “We will rearrange the country so that people can live in peace. The streets cannot be controlled,” Bullrich said while presenting the measures.
The government will now be able to mobilize police forces without the need for a court decision to suppress all protests in which a public road is closed, even if they are peaceful. Although he stressed that the police would resort to “non-lethal weapons,” Bullrich stated that the use of force “will be adjusted to suit the opposing resistance.”
The Ministry of Security will also create a “registry of organizations that participate” in the protests and leave open the possibility of requesting compensation from the promoters of the demonstrations to bear “the cost of the elements mobilized to stop the illegal actions.”
Measures to further repress demonstrations are raising concern inside and outside Argentina. The country’s Association of Judges warned that “the right to protest should be considered the general rule and its limits the exception.” The Plaza de Mayo Mothers’ Association, one of Argentina’s most respected social organizations, said the package presented by Bullrich was “violent, unconstitutional and fascist.”
Ciment Nyaltosi Fule, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, has expressed concerns about restrictions on protests in Argentina. “I am receiving very disturbing reports about a presidential proclamation that criminalizes peaceful protests and gives law enforcement unlimited power to use force. Silencing dissenting voices is not the answer to resolving social crises,” he added.
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