POLITICS-ARGENTINA: New President Faces First General Strike

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 20 1999 (IPS) - Argentina’s president Fernando de la Rúa took office Dec 10, and Monday, Dec 20, faced his first general strike, called by government employees to protest the violent repression of a demonstration Friday in a northeastern province, where serious social, economic and political crises have led to federal intervention.

The acceleration of the crisis in Corrientes made last Friday an unpleasant end to De la Rúa’s first week in office.

The fiasco in Corrientes began several months ago, but exploded in the new president’s hands, overshadowing some his first week’s successes.

Friday, the federal police confronted demonstrators in the provincial capital who had occupied a bridge linking Corrientes to Chaco province to demand the five months of wages the government owes them. Two people were killed in the confrontation, which led the Government Workers Association to call a general strike for Monday.

Víctor de Genaro, secretary general of the union, commented that the strike includes doctors, nurses, teachers, public administration and judicial employees throughout the country, but he clarified that “it is not against De la Rúa, it is a protest against the deaths resulting from (Friday’s) repression.”

But the strike coincided Monday with the poor reception in Corrientes of government-appointed mediator, Ramón Mestre, marking the narrow margins the Executive branch has for cleaning up the crises smouldering in several provinces.

The impact of the Corrientes crisis on public opinion stole the spotlight from the all but assured resolution to the national teachers strike by the end of this month, after nearly two years and eight months.

De la Rúa succeeded Carlos Menem as president and, according to a Gallup poll last week, 75 percent of respondents said they hold a “good” or “very good” opinion of the new leader, and most indicated they see him as an honest leader.

But just after taking office, De la Rúa had to take on the crisis in Corrientes, a province of one million people that was already subjected to three federal government interventions under Menem. Beginning Monday, the De la Rúa govenrment begins the fourth intervention in an attempt to clean up the province’s fiscal accounts.

In Corrientes, 60 percent of the workforce is employeed by the government. Poor administration has meant that workers – including doctors, police and teachers – have not been paid five months of wages. School children, meanwhile, missed seven months of classes.

The same day De la Rúa was sworn in, demonstrators occupied the inter-provincial bridge, spurring on the crisis. One week later, the new president ordered federal intervention of the provincial administration, and ordered military police to the area to clear the bridge of demonstrators.

The crisis has given the new government the opportunity to demonstrate its leadership style. The intervention was a last recourse – and the decision had the backing of Congress, an occurrence that was none too frequent during Menem’s 10 years in office.

The government, meanwhile, made financial aid to the province conditional on the immediate clean-up of its accounts. The official position on Corrientes may be seen as a warning for other provinces reporting high deficits – even if their situations are not as extreme.

The Corrientes crisis, because of its severity and urgency, overshadowed other important events in Argentina last week.

The government accepted the designation of Rodolfo Barra as Auditor General of the Nation – a post reserved for the political opposition. Barra is a former Menem official who has sparked criticism for his lack of transparency and for taking the side of private business in government conflicts.

But De la Rúa immediately compensated for this defeat with some of his own victories. He was able to convince the Lower House of parliament to approve, without changes, his bill for the 2000 budget, and a tax reform that is part of his plan to reduce the deficit, estimated at some 10 billion dollars.

He obtained better interest rates for debt placement, and won promises from telecommunications companies to reduce rates by 5 to 20 percent, and intervened in the government institution that provides health services to the elderly.

The institution has come under harsh criticism for the poor management of its finances, its shoddy or non-existent services, and the legal charges – 17 to date – against its outgoing director, Víctor Alderete, an official loyal to Menem.

The government’s new ministers have dropped clues about their political stances. The Minister of Justice met with the Supreme Court and promised its members that the new government, for the first time, will not nominate judges with governing-party links. The Foreign Affairs Minister, meanwhile, marked the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) as the priority on the foreign agenda.

The greatest achievement under the new administration, to take place next week, would be the resolution of a teachers strike that began in April 1997 with demands for better salaries and an increased education budget.

Teachers erected a tent in front of the parliament building and demanded a law that better finances education. Inside the tent, by turns, groups of teachers gathered to take part in a hunger strike. The site became a focal point of the opposition against Menem’s leadership.

Before taking office, De la Rúa designated Juan José Llach as his Economy Minister, which upset teachers who feared the conflict would be prolonged under the new administration. The day the new president took office, they called another strike.

Nevertheless, during his first week in the post, Llach convinced the teachers of the effectiveness of a fund already approved by the Lower House that guarantees the resources for wage and budget increases.

The teachers promised that if the Senate approves the initiative Dec 22, they will take down the tent and put an end to the union’s longest running conflict – and the first held without students missing classes -, just before they strike is to reach the 1,000- day mark.