(30 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buenos Aires, Argentina – 30 April 2025
1. Various of protesters holding cutouts of Pope Francis during the Buenos Aires May Day protest
2. Protesters hold a banner that reads (Spanish) "Out Milei, not to the dismantling of the state"
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Flavio Vergara, state workers’ union leader:
"Today this government has managed to have poor and destitute workers. The state worker whose salary starts under the agreement starts with 350,000 pesos ($300). That is below the poverty line. Today 70% of workers earn less than the market basket and they are causing, in addition to the 30,000 layoffs that have occurred, 12,000 workers to leave seeking other opportunities because they cannot work for that money, they cannot live with dignity."
4. Protesters in Buenos Aires holding banners featuring Pope Francis during the May Day demonstration.
5. Protest sing UPSOUND (Spanish): "Those who don’t jump voted for Milei"
6. Protesters playing drums
7. Various of protesters marching with a photo of Pope Francis
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ruben Dario Sobrero, trains union leader:
"It cannot be that the workers are the adjustment variable of a government that directs the entire crisis towards us. So well, today we are back on the streets and we hope to now go out looking for continuity with 36-hours strike."
9. Protesters holding a banner with the colors of the Argentine flag that reads (Spanish): "Not with the homeland," and a food street vendor
10. Various of a caricature of President Javier Milei with the phrase (Spanish): "The caste are us."
11. Protest
12. Priest Lorenzo ‘Toto’ de Vedia speaks during the march next to an image of Pope Francis
13. Banner featuring Pope Francis
14. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Lorenzo ‘Toto’ de Vedia, Priest:
"Remembering such endearing words of dear Pope Francis, (of whom) we are still in the ninth (day) of his parting: ‘work is sacred, work gives dignity.’ Today we pray for this words so that no one is left without a job and that everyone is well compensated."
15. Protesters chant UPSOUND (Spanish): "Long live Francisco, long live our Pope Francis."
STORYLINE:
Members of Argentina’s main labor unions demonstrated in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, ahead of International Workers’ Day, to protest President Javier Milei’s austerity policies and to pay tribute to the late Pope Francis.
During the protest, some flags with the Pope’s image and slogans recognizing the impact of his pontificate were visible.
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) said in a statement that the unions are "concerned and alert to the social, economic, and labor situation" in Argentina, facing a government that "does not address demands, does not listen, and does not engage in dialogue."
It added that with the fiscal goals it proposes, Milei’s administration —an ultraliberal who came to power in December 2023— "loses sight of the human face."
The Executive branch has proposed a further reduction in spending this year to maintain the fiscal surplus.
The demonstration in the Argentine capital took place a day after efforts to establish a new minimum wage with labor and business sectors failed.
The current minimum wage is just about $250, an amount insufficient to cover the basic needs of a typical family of four.
While the march was underway, Milei stated in a speech to businessmen that he has already made "2,000 structural reforms" and that the "stabilization phase" has concluded, and now it is "the time for economic growth."
AP Video by Victor R. Caivano
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