A SIGN OF THE TIMES TO COME?

With

the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s deal likely to come with austerity conditions, protestors sprung into action this week carrying out a number of activities including strikes, camp-outs and road blocks.

Social organisations united under the umbrella of a protest front called the Frente de Organizaciones en Lucha (FOL) spent the night camping in front of the iconic Obelisk on Wednesday, with tents raised the following the day.

Subte underground workers carried out a number of partial strikes throughout the week, just as the government opened a new station on the H line.

Subte workers unions complain that their confederations undercut them by agreeing to wage increases of around 15 percent, a figure which will fall significantly short of inflation this year.

Meanwhile, tensions are already at boiling point between provincial governments and teachers unions, with a number still having not signed up to wage deals.

The Macri government will seek to act cautiously in 2019, as it implements any additional austerity measures. Layoffs have become a reality in Macri’s Argentina and protests are a regular occurrence. Still, social and political organisations know too well the power of their protest activity and with 2019 elections approaching, the horizon looks complicated, to say the least.