A woman smiles and waves from a balcony while a crowd with flags gathers in the street below her.
ARGENTINA

Kirchnerist unions are preparing a march to accompany Cristina to court.

However, CGT emphasized that 'there will not be a general strike' due to the ratification of the sentence against the former president

The wave of strikes and protests in support of the corrupt former president Cristina Kirchner following the confirmation of her conviction by the Supreme Court is beginning to take shape.

Everything indicates that the unions will focus their efforts on a major demonstration to accompany the individual convicted of corruption when she must appear in court to be detained.

So far, only the Capital Section of the State Workers' Association (ATE), led by the ultra-Kirchnerist leader Daniel Catalano, has called for a 24-hour strike starting this Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., in rejection of what they describe as "the proscription of Cristina Kirchner."

The rest of the unions aligned with Kirchnerism that had threatened to take action have not yet made their decisions official. However, as soon as the Supreme Court's ruling became known, a group of SMATA union workers employed at automotive companies in the northern part of Greater Buenos Aires blocked the Panamericana highway in protest.

A group of people marches down a street holding flags and a large sign that says
Kirchnerist unions | La Derecha Diario

The main leaders of unionism aligned with Kirchnerism are considering the possibility of calling a strike with a demonstration toward the Comodoro Py courts on the day Cristina Kirchner must appear to be detained and disqualified in the context of the Vialidad case.

This was confirmed by the general secretary of La Bancaria, Sergio Palazzo, who stated: "The first thing that must happen is a major demonstration to accompany her when she has to appear in court. For that demonstration, there must be an interruption of activities so that everyone can attend."

The union leader indicated that he had held conversations with the co-head of the CGT, Héctor Daer, before the Supreme Court's ruling was known, and that in the coming hours he would resume dialogue with him to coordinate the details of the actions in support of Cristina Kirchner.

Nevertheless, from the leadership of the labor federation, they emphasized that "there will not be a general strike" over the conviction of the former president. Instead, they anticipated that "freedom of action" would be granted to the unions to decide whether to join in strikes and demonstrations toward the courts.

A person speaking into a microphone with an emphatic expression and a blue background.
Cristina Kirchner, convicted of corruption | La Derecha Diario

So far, the only institutional response from the CGT was a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, before the Supreme Court's ruling was known, under the title "Democracy is in danger." In the text, the labor federation expressed "its deepest repudiation of the media and political onslaught against the Judiciary" and demanded that the Judiciary act "with the integrity required by law and demanded by society."

"We express our solidarity and unconditional support for our colleague, twice President of the Nation, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner," they emphasized.

The statement also warned that "on the eve of a new election, any ruling that calls into question the democratic rules only serves to disrupt the normal institutional functioning of the Nation," alluding to "cases in which serious irregularities are observed, early dissemination of measures through the media, and manipulation of information."

It concluded: "This way, the processes of investigation and judgment are distorted and denatured, when they should be conducted in accordance with the law and respect the guarantees."

For the CGT, "it is the popular will that must be safeguarded, since only it can decide, through free elections, who will be its representatives, without interference from other powers that hinder this act of constitutional sovereignty."

➡️ Argentina

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