Retirees are concentrated this Wednesday, September 4th at Congress at 3pm in rejection of the total veto of President Javier Milei to the new retirement mobility law, a new adjustment to the elderly. The unions must be forced to abandon their truce and it is necessary to build a great movement to defeat the veto.
In the first 7 months of the year The average purchasing power of pensions plummeted, compared to last year, by 29% in total and 18.5% for the minimum with bonusaccording to the Congressional Budget Office. While retirees lose, Milei provocatively said in an interview with his friend Luis Majul on LN+ that, during his administration, pensions recovered, “in dollars,” phenomenally, “the purchasing power of retirees flew.” A lie.
The Congressional Budget Office reported that the average purchasing power of pensions in the first 7 months of 2024 fell, compared to last year, by 29% in total and 18.5% for the minimum pension with a bonus.
Rather than soaring, as Milei said, pensions plummeted. pic.twitter.com/3z2fv7O6Rb— Nicolas del Caño (@NicolasdelCano) September 2, 2024
Milei’s government moved forward with the adjustment, especially with regard to pensions. The cuts to pensioners accounted for 27.7% of the total surplus between January and Julyaccording to Cepa’s calculations.
Last week, the government repressed a march by retirees in front of Congress with the help of the Federal Police (led by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich). There are only beatings for retirees who cannot make ends meet.
While the Government adjusted pensions for retirees, it rewarded large companies that had million-dollar profits so far this year, as CIFRA demonstrated. The report indicates that of the 23 selected companies, the appropriation of extraordinary profits is verified by 10 companies whose level of profitability exceeded 40% of sales in the first quarter of 2024 (Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, Metrogas, Pampa Energía, Aluar, Richmond, Mirgor, Arcor, Ternium, Loma Negra and Banco Macro). This was also recognized by President Javier Milei at the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) where he stated “We came to shrink the State to enlarge your pockets” where the president of the UIA, Daniel Funes de Rioja, and its vice presidents, Miguel Rodríguez and Adrián Kaufmann Brea, were present.
The adjustment for retirees is not something exclusive to Milei. The entire opposition political spectrum, from Peronism to radicals like Martín Lousteau, are scandalized “in defense of retirees,” but they have systematically promoted and supported adjustments for senior citizens.
Stop and mobilize
The retirees held a press conference where they demanded an end to the fragmentation of the struggles and called for a large mobilization (in addition to the one on Wednesday) for Friday, September 20, Retirees’ Day.
This attack on the elderly must serve as an impetus to raise the voice of retirees in the streets, together with militant unionism, social movements and the left. It is time for more and more sectors to join and converge with other ongoing struggles such as the educational fight for more funding, laid-off workers. Active workers, students and social organizations must accompany. It is necessary to force the unions through assemblies in the workplaces to abandon their truce with the Government and put all the strength of the working class at the service of this and all the struggles that must be waged.
For their part, the Trade Union Front, the Corriente Federal, the two CTAs and the UTEP announced that on Thursday 12th they will mobilize to the National Congress against President Javier Milei’s veto of the Retirement Mobility Law at 3pm. However, for it to be a massive and forceful call, it is necessary to call for a strike so that tens of thousands of workers can participate. A great movement must be built to defeat Milei’s veto.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
