EDN - Argentina Union Calls Strike After President Milei's Reform Bill Sparks Protests Market Downturn | Benzinga
Argentina’s new president Javier Milei faces a general strike after spending just a month in office.
What Happened: Protesters have taken to the streets in response to a recent reform bill, and unions have planned a general strike for Jan. 24, while the country’s equity market has started showing signs of strain.
The CGT, one of Argentina's oldest and most powerful union groups, announced the planned strike Thursday following a raft of unpopular reforms, including Milei’s decision to sack 5,000 government employees to cut costs.
Milei was the unexpected winner of an election run-off in mid-November — a close result — but one that appeared to please the market at first, lifting the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (NYSE:ARGT), an exchange-traded fund that tracks Argentine stocks, by 24% since the election.