By Resumen Latinoamericano on May 25, 2018
An absolute multitude of people rejected the adjustment policies and the conditions of the International Monetary Fund in the center of Buenos Aires today. “We know what it is, neoliberal colonialism only offers misery”, was raised in the document that was read in front thousands of people just before the singing of the National Anthem at the closing of the mobilization.
Tens of thousands blocking the streets around the Obelisk were there to reject the recent agreement that the government of Mauricio Macri negotiated with the International Monetary Fund that will only deepen the adjustment being made against social programs. The crowd mobilized under the slogan “The Homeland is in danger” at the behest of social, union and political organizations that called the demonstration within the framework of the Celebration of May 25. From the stage a document was read in which the value of the public was defended, criticisms against the national government were expressed and several demands were raised.
The reading of the document was the culminating moment of a mobilization that began shortly in the afternoon, when the columns of the different organizations and also the general public began to fill the 9 de Julio Avenue. The scene was in sharp contrast with that of the Plaza de Mayo that was fenced off hours before, when Mauricio Macri moved from the Government House to the Cathedral surrounded by officials and security forces; far away from the people.
Many marched towards the Obelisk with Argentine flags; others took those of party and union groups. Other notables attending included, Mothers of Plaza de Mayo and Sergio Maldonado (brother of Santiago who was assassinated by Argentinean military forces in August 2017)
Well known Argentinean actors Osmar Núñez and Paola Barrientos alternated the reading of the document that was agreed upon by the different conveners of the demonstration. The General Confederation of Workers (CGT), the most critical of the Government, the Federal Current and the Argentina Workers Central Union (CTA) participated in the call. Also in the multitude was Roberto Baradel head of Unified Union of Education Workers of Buenos Aires (Suteba); Sonia Alesso from the Confederation of Education Workers of Argentina (Ctera), and Eduardo López, from the Union of Education Workers (UTE), who were some of the most visible faces of the Federal Educational March that took place just a few days ago, and several political leaders of the opposition.
The document proclaimed the defense of “the dignified work that generates the wealth of the country” and the rights of the trade unions. In addition, “the need for industrial development, protecting regional economies” was raised within the framework of a “federalism threatened by the looting program.”
Also the text defended “the creative capacity of the people”, organized in cooperative work and “neighborhood and social organization”, and expressed support for public education and the role of the State to deal with the corporations.
Importantly, there was a defense of the policies of memory, of the years of the military dictatorship prior to the Macrismo. It was highlighted that “the only place for genocide is the jail”. Another demand of the document was a call for justice by Santiago Maldonado and Rafael Nahuel and the demand for respect for native peoples, who have suffered “the subjugation of their ancestral cultures”.
In just a few days a new march under the slogan “Not One Less” is scheduled for next June 4 that will be a show of support for that movement that “shakes the belly of the dominant patriarchal culture”; that includes the demand for gender parity “in political, economic, social and cultural terms”.
In another passage of the document “freedom of expression and popular communication” was demanded to avoid the concentration of control of the internet in the hands of a few that would lead to the “the construction of a unique thought that legitimizes the programs of adjustment and looting”.
Finally, there was a mention of the “need to integrate our destiny with that of Latin America,” and the issue was brought up that “we are facing a new type of colonialism. The closing reminded everyone that Argentines define themselves as “a dignified people with memory, that knows neoliberal colonialism only offers misery; to combat it we must confront it in the streets and the voting boxes in order to build the Homeland we dream of.”
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano, translation by Resumen Latinoamericano North America Bureau