Javier Milei – Page 2 – COMMUNIST PARTY OF MAINE

_{^{Photo via Trade Unions for Energy Democracy}}

_{Reposted fro TUED}

Argentinian President-Elect Milei Moves to Privatise Energy… and Everything Else

Milei is making the privatisation of the Argentine state-run oil company, YPF, a top priority. “The first thing to do is to restructure it so that YPF can be “sold in a very favourable way for the Argentinians.” He added, “Everything that can be in the hands of the private sector will be in its hands.” Milei said he would also privatise Public TV, National Radio and the National News Agency (Telám). New York-traded shares in Argentine YPF soared more than 40% following the announcement.

Commentators have pointed out such a radical program of privatisation will require constitutional reforms and, in some cases, new laws from a Congress where Milei does not yet have a majority.

‍Argentinian Trade Unions Call to Action

Hugo “Cachorro” Godoy, Secretary General of CTA-Autónoma, offered a first analysis of the factors behind the results. “We voted against this government [of Alberto Fernández], which did not fulfil any of the objectives and commitments made, and which were initially the antithesis of Macri’s policies and the IMF’s impositions. We ended four years of government being worse off than when it began, particularly in the economic and social spheres. Milei arrives on the back of the fragmentation of the popular camp [working class base] and the fragmentation of labour relations, where precariousness has produced economic and social damage, including 43% poverty [and] 10% hunger. Regarding [Milei’s] … denial of the state as an instrument of equity and balance in a society, it is indispensable to build an alternative program to reconstitute the popular sectors and working-class base.”

The General Confederation of Labour of the Argentine Republic (CGT), the country’s largest trade union confederation, gathered its unions and warned that it will not accept any rollback of rights or delays in bargaining negotiations. He also rejected Milei’s threats concerning the paralysis of public works and the privatisation of the railways and Aerolíneas Argentinas.

“Many people voted for Milei knowing what he was going to do, but they thought he would not touch them. If it does, the CGT will be there. (…) We are not going to allow the stripping of rights and much less the payment of salaries,” said Héctor Daer, representative of the health sector in the CGT. ‍

‍The Metallurgical Workers’ Union (UOM) announced that the drastic measures announced by Milei “are not good for the workers, such as the paralysis of public works being developed throughout the country”.

Pedro Wasiejko, Secretary General of the TUED-participating union, the Federation of Energy, Industry, Service and Allied Workers’ Unions (Fetia), pointed to a recent federation summit which concluded in the unanimous understanding that “without autonomous productive development, there is no possibility of social justice or national sovereignty. (…) The [summit] highlighted the enormous potential of our state-owned companies as well as the deep knowledge and capacity of their workers clearly emerged, in clear contrast to the proposals of those who claim that the only way out is to privatise and close them down.”

Julio Acosta, General Secretary of the Federation of Energy Workers of Argentina (FeTERA) shared reflections on the need to build a Public Pathway in Argentina. The following text was written just before the elections when FeTERA joined TUED (welcome, comrades!):

“The denationalisation of public companies made Argentina lose its sovereignty, in this offensive of capital over labour, it brought our country to its knees to the point that currently economic policy is dictated by the IMF, and every three months, a delegation from the fund arrives in our country to check whether the objectives proposed by them are being met, which means more adjustments for the working people, more dependence, more backwardness.

The only way out for Argentina is to regain sovereignty. To undo the structural transformations of neoliberalism, to recover energy sovereignty, food sovereignty (we are a country that produces food for more than 450 million inhabitants, and there are millions of people who go hungry), as well as financial and economic sovereignty.

Recovering sovereignty means decommodifying the energy sector, nationalising it, re-nationalising essential services, changing the privatisation model for a model of state ownership with the participation and control of users and workers, and thus recovering rights for workers, users and society as a whole.” Read Acosta’s complete text here.

In response to Milei’s privatisation announcements, social movements grouped in the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP) and the Association of State Workers (ATE) called to “avoid the destruction of the State proposed by Milei” and affirmed that they will not allow “the “new attempt to privatise public companies.”

“We will not step away one millimetre from the mandate given to us by our members. Before leaving, the current government has to guarantee the increases promised for November and December. And to the next one, we want to say that we will defend with all our strength the jobs and public policies we have won,” said Rodolfo Aguiar, General Secretary of the Association of State Workers (ATE).

“We must be strong and united because the way out is always collective. We need a strong and sovereign state, and it is clear that half of our country is not able to value the importance of this. It is very distressing because those of us who are aware of the history of our country know what has happened with privatisations and dismantling,” added Mercedes Cabezas, Deputy Secretary of ATE.

The Buenos Aires Press Union (SiPreBA) called for assemblies this week at Radio Nacional, TV Pública and Télam, respectively, under the slogan “Without Public Media, There Is No Democracy”.

‍CUT Brazil: Rebuilding After Bolsonaro Presidency

‍Without minimising the important differences between Argentina and Brazil, the latter faced similar challenges under the Temer and Bolsonaro administrations with the privatisation of important state-owned companies such as Eletrobras and Petrobras. The fight against these privatisations and the struggle now, under Lula, to reclaim and restore the companies may offer valuable insights into strategy.

CUT Brasil addressed the Argentinean labour movement in a post-election statement. “Our history of solidarity between the CUT Brasil and the Argentinean trade unions is marked by hard struggles and resistance to authoritarian and neoliberal governments that for decades have worked to hand over public goods, strategic sectors of our economies to multinational companies and under the pretext of reducing spending, destroy our public systems of social and labour protection. The result, we already know, is that millions of workers will be abandoned by the minimal state, pushed into hunger, violence and unemployment. (…) We will be together in this period of resistance, but also of organising the struggle to defend a sovereign project of regional integration…” The photo above is from an Argentina solidarity pane l with Argentine trade union leaders at CUT Brazil’s National Congress last month.

The reclamation of state-owned industrial policy and the restoration of democracy, the labour movement, and public services were among the central themes of the 14th National Congress of CUT Brasil (CONCUT14) held in October 2023. Over two thousand Brazilian delegates and 150 international delegates, including TUED, participated in the historic Congress that marked the first since the defeat of Bolsonaro.

In the days leading up to the CONCUT, TUED participated in the third edition of the International Trade Union Forum for a Social and Ecological Transition, organised by CUT Brasil, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RSL), the General Confederation of Labour of France (CGT), Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and TUED. Following the Congress, TUED also participated in the Industriall Global Union Brazil’s convening of the country’s industrial sector unions, including the Brazilian Oilworkers Federation (FUP), National Confederation of Metalworkers of the CUT (CNM/CUT), National Federation and Confederation of Urban Workers – FNU/CNU, and the Energy Workers Union (Sinergia CUT), among others.

_{Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) is a global, multi-sector initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections.}

_{^{Javier Milei via People’s Dispatch}}

_{Reposted by Peoples Dispatch}

Milei won a resounding victory with an over 10 point margin over the center-left peronist candidate Sergio Massa.

Javier Milei, the candidate of the Liberty Advances far-right libertarian party, was victorious in the second round presidential elections in Argentina held on November 19. With 99.3% of the votes counted, Milei had scored 55.7% of the vote, while his opponent, center-left peronist Sergio Massa of the Union for the Homeland coalition, trailed behind with 44.3%. Milei will take office as president on December 10.

In his victory speech, Milei told supporters, “The situation in Argentina is critical. There is no space for gradualisms nor for lukewarmness or ambiguities…If we don’t advance rapidly with the structural changes that Argentina needs, we will face the worst crisis in our history.”

He added, “Our commitment is with democracy, with free trade, and with peace. We will work elbow to elbow with all of the nations of the free world.”

Massa addressed supporters at the Union for the Homeland bunker after congratulating Milei on his victory. He stated, “There were two paths: we chose to promote and defend education and public health, security and the State, the national industry, work, SMEs, workers with their rights, and national unity. I continue to believe that Argentina needs to agree on state policies.”

Milei’s victory has sent a shockwave across Argentina’s progressive and left movements who fear that many of the country’s hard won conquests including free healthcare and higher education will be under attack with a Milei government. Furthermore, Milei’s determination to cut to public spending in addition to his promise to dollarize the economy and dissolve the central bank, will send Argentina’s already struggling economy into a tailspin. In 2022, Argentina registered over 100% inflation and the poverty rate currently stands at 40%.

A letter was signed by over 100 economists from across the world ahead of the elections, warning of the impacts of Milei’s proposed economic reforms. They wrote, “In short, Javier Milei’s dollarization and fiscal austerity proposals overlook the complexities of modern economies, ignore lessons from historical crises, and open the door for accentuating already severe inequalities. As Argentina navigates its complex economic landscape, it is crucial to approach policy making with balanced, empirically grounded strategies that are not only appealing in the short run but also sustainable, equitable, and enabling in the long run.”

Human rights defenders as well as victims and survivors of the country’s last civic-military dictatorship had also warned about his open and vehement denialist attitude about the dictatorship. In a presidential debate ahead of the first round, he claimed that the widely accepted number of 30,000 detained and disappeared was incorrect and that it was actually 8,753. He had also stated that there is “a twisted view of history”, and accused people of using human rights “ideology” “to make money and carry out shady deals”. His running mate Victoria Villarruel, held an event in September in honor of the victims of the left-wing guerrilla groups and to contest the “lie” of human rights organizations of the 30,000 detained and disappeared.

After the results were released, social leader and pre-presidential candidate Juan Grabois wrote, “Face adversity with fortitude, sustain our organization with wisdom and firmly maintain our convictions because, stronger than ever, with the Constitution in our hands and the People in our hearts, we are going to return… much, much better. No one gives up here, if persecution touches us it will be the forging of the future… and may the dream of a just, free and sovereign country with land, shelter and work for everyone live forever.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro saluted Milei’s victory but added, “The extreme right has won in Argentina; It is the decision of your society. Sad for Latin America and we’ll see… neoliberalism no longer has a proposal for society, it cannot respond to humanity’s current problems.”

Milei has vowed to cut all relations with China, Brazil, and leave MercoSur, stating “I don’t make deals with communists.” Meanwhile at a recent campaign rally Milei waved the Israeli flag and months ago had stated “Should I assume the presidency, I will align with the United States and Israel as key allies. The level of alliance with Israel is so profound that I intend to relocate the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

Billionaire, Tesla CEO, and owner of X, Elon Musk, commented on Milei’s victory saying: “Prosperity is ahead for Argentina.”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the return of democracy.

_{Peoples Dispatch, formerly The Dawn News, is an international media project with the mission of bringing to you voices from people’s movements and organizations across the globe. Since its establishment three years ago, it has sought to ensure that the coverage of news from around the world is not restricted to the rhetoric of politicians and the fortunes of big companies but encompasses the richness and diversity of mobilizations from around the world.}