The Argentine Minister of Economy and presidential candidate of the ruling party, Sergio Massa, speaks in the final stretch of the campaign before workers of the General Confederation of Labor, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. All the political forces of Argentina are forced to compete in the primaries on Sunday, August 13. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Members of labor unions attend the campaign event of the General Confederation of Labor with the Minister of Economy and presidential candidate of the ruling party, Sergio Massa, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, August 8, 2023. All the political forces of Argentina are forced to compete in the primaries on Sunday, August 13. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
“We are going to vote in defense of the productive model. I can make mistakes, we can discuss many issues, but have no doubt that I am going to be the president of labor and workers,” said Massa upon receiving formal support from the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), which is made up of 50 unions from various sectors, during an act in a suburb north of Buenos Aires.
The official is one of the pre-candidates of the official Unión por la Patria —the name that the Peronist party took— who will compete in the open, simultaneous and mandatory primaries (PASO) next Sunday with a view to the October general elections. His internal contender is Juan Grabois, a social leader with little chance of surpassing him.
Since the primaries are open and all forces are forced to compete, regardless of whether they present one or more pre-candidates, they operate as a great survey to measure the pulse of the electorate for the general elections.
Although analysts agree that Massa is the most competitive leader within the ruling Peronist party, his inability to contain inflation – the latest year-on-year measurement showed 115.6%, just in line with the time he has been in office as minister – affected directly to the electorate of the ruling party, especially the most salaried workers.
“We know that there are colleagues who had another hope when they accompanied us to victory in 2019 (when Alberto Fernández won the presidency), who thank us for taking care of jobs in the pandemic, but they reproach us for not having recovered our income and they can make us angry. , disappointment, anger, even the desire not to go to vote ”, admitted Massa.
The purchasing power of the minimum, vital and mobile wage continues to show a negative trend, warned the Research and Training Center of the Argentine Republic (CIFRA) in its July report. “Since 2021, despite the continuous instances of nominal updating and in the face of high inflation, a recovery of its purchasing power has not been achieved. In the average of the first semester of 2023, the minimum wage showed a reduction of 0.6% compared to the previous year.
“I want to ask you that in each construction site, each factory, in each classroom and family home, tell them that it is not by going back to the past of adjustment and pain that Argentina will move forward,” the minister remarked.
Massa received the support of more than 50 unions that make up the CGT, including construction, metallurgical, commerce, banking and truckers, just at a time when the candidates of Together for Change, the main opposition force and best profiled for the elections October, they propose a labor reform and limit the power of the unions.
“There is total support for Massa’s formula, I think it is the only formula that can give the workers an answer,” said Pablo Moyano, leader of the truckers. “We have the peace of mind that Sergio Massa is not going to touch the work agreements, he is not going to take out the parity or compensation.”
At the end of his speech, Massa questioned that from the opposition “they say that ours is a failed country, that we are a society of m… (profane term), a country without destiny, among other things, questioning the union model Argentinian. But we know that the labor movement is the backbone of Peronism, we have to go vote thinking of our Homeland”.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
