Buenos Aires Protest Against Austerity

Argentine social organizations and left-wing groups marched through Buenos Aires, rallying against President Javier Milei's administration's austerity measures.

Unemployment organizations and left-wing groups led a protest that began in a church in the west of the Argentine capital, where thousands of people make a pilgrimage annually to ask for employment in the sanctuary of Saint Cajetan - who in Argentina is considered the patron saint of the unemployed - to culminate in Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Government House.

Demonstrators voiced their discontent over Milei's fiscal policies, which they claim have worsened the ongoing financial crisis. The rallies highlighted rising social unrest and the urgent call for government intervention to alleviate many Argentines' economic struggles.

President Milei, a libertarian, has introduced austerity measures in a bid to curb rampant inflation. These measures include significant cuts to state spending, reduction of subsidies, and downsizing of the public sector.

Devotees of Saint Cajetan congregated at the church in the early morning to pray for improved wages and employment conditions.

Throughout decades of political change in Argentina, the annual pilgrimage to St. Cayetano Sanctuary has served as a potent, and grim, reminder that in Argentina, economic despair remains a constant. But this year might be unique in one thing: The desperation over rising joblessness that drives Argentines to call on St. Cayetano has been matched by rage at the painful austerity program of libertarian President Javier Milei.

The government’s shock economic measures — aimed at slashing annual public spending by some 3% of the country’s gross domestic product — has created an excruciating recession, pushing up unemployment to nearly 8%.