AFP/Buenos Aires

A general strike against policies of Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner disrupted public transportation yesterday amid growing public discontent over high inflation and crime.
Buses, commuter trains and most metro lines were shut down by the 24-hour walkout, while airlines were forced to cancel flights.
Gas stations also closed, and groups of radical leftist youths formed pickets on the main access route to Buenos Aires from early morning.
“The strike is going to be broadly observed because people are unhappy,” said Hugo Moyano, a truckers’ union leader who is organising the protest. It was unclear, however, to what extent the stoppage would carry over into other sectors of the economy, like commerce, banking and education where pro-government unions opposed to the strike hold sway.
Three of the country’s five unions are taking part, which also takes aim at Kirchner’s attempt to cap salary increases in an increasingly troubled economy. Kirchner’s centre-left government is being blamed for an annual inflation rate of over 30%.
In addition, crime is seen as a major concern by the population.
But not everyone supports the strike. “My colleagues and I are not going to back the strike. We have arranged to get to work in a taxi,” said Diana Gonzalez, 26, who works in a pharmacy in Buenos Aires.
Alberto Gomez, 31, chief of security at a popular shopping mall in downtown Buenos Aires, said he was working as usual because his company had set up shuttle buses for workers to report for duty. “Here we are not on strike. We respect the stoppage, but do so while working,” he said.
But the strike was having broader repercussions elsewhere. Pilots and aircrews rejected the strike, but airlines had to cancel flights anyway because air controllers walked out.
Two metro lines whose workers did not strike were attacked early yesterday by violent gangs. Those lines were operating on a reduced schedule. Besides the cap on salary increases, unions are angry about inflation, which was seven percent in the first two months of the year, and about rampant crime in major cities.
“I’m never in favour of the strikes, but living with this level of inflation is impossible,” said Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri of the opposition PRO party.
Earlier this month, a year-long public safety emergency was declared in Buenos Aires after a spate of violent robberies and assaults sparked a wave of vigilante action.
The last general strike called by unions in Argentina took place in November 2012 and partially paralysed the country. “Everyone has the right to strike and that’s good,” Kirchner, who took office in 2007, said on Tuesday. Sociologist Jorge Giacobbe said the strike marked the start of a political push against Kirchner, who is in the final two years of her second term in office.