A 24-hour strike by Argentina's labor unions paralyzes everyday life

(9 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buenos Aires, Argentina - 09 May 2024
1. Aerial shot of Retiro train station ++MUTE++
2. Aerial shot of Constitución train and bus station with less buses and cars than usual ++MUTE++
3. Aerial shot of bus stops and buses ++MUTE++
4. Airplanes parked at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires
5. Empty hall inside airport
6. Empty check in counters
7. Bus parking on a stop and a graffiti painted on a news stand reads: "Not policeman and not wig"
8. Woman speaking to a bus driver and then entering the bus
9. Bus leaving a fairly empty bus stop at Constitución station
10. Buses from Line 168 parked in line ready to depart garage
11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): Juan Carlos Pedraza, union representative for bus line 168:
"You see, today the CGT (Argentine Central Union of Workers) called for a strike, the Transport Union is joining, but the buses are still running. People go to work because their wallets can't afford to lose a day's work."
12. Bus leaving the garage
13. Bus arriving to stop
14. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): Judith Rovira, employee:
"People need to work. I need to work, that's why I'm here. On strike days, I've always worked. I've never had problems traveling or anything. I always manage to get to my workplace."
15. Inside of a bus with a broken glass and tape around nearby seats
16. Close of broken glass and seat
17. Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich arriving to speak with journalists
18. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): Patricia Bullrich, Argentine Security Minister:
"In some cases, bus drivers were attacked or had their windows broken, nails were placed on the streets to puncture their tires, with a very specific objective: to prevent those who wanted to work from doing so through extortion and force."
19. Central Corrientes Avenue and traffic
20. People in line inside a grocery store
21. Aerial shot of Buenos Aires ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
Argentina's biggest trade unions mounted one of their fiercest challenges to the libertarian government of President Javier Milei, staging a mass general strike on Thursday that led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and halted key bus, rail and subway lines.
Main avenues, streets, and major transportation terminals were left somewhat empty.
Most teachers couldn't make it to school, and parents kept their children at home.
Trash collectors walked off the job - as did health workers, except for those in emergency rooms.
The 24-hour strike against Milei's painful austerity measures and contentious deregulation push threatened to bring the nation of 46 million to a standstill as banks, businesses and state agencies also closed in protest.
During the morning rush hour on Thursday, few cars could be seen on streets typically snarled with traffic.
Shortly after the strike began at midnight, police said protesters attacked two buses in Buenos Aires, breaking windows but causing no casualties.
"In some cases, bus drivers were attacked or had their windows broken, nails were placed on the streets to puncture their tires, with a very specific objective: to prevent those who wanted to work from doing so through extortion and force." said security minister Patricia Bullrich during a news briefing.
Thursday's action marked the second nationwide union strike since Milei came to power last December, slashing spending, laying off government workers, and freezing all public works projects in a bid to rescue Argentina from its worst financial crisis in two decades.
AP Video shot by Cristian Kovadloff and Rodrigo Abd
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