Between demands and new promises, Latin America manifests itself on Workers’ Day

The cry was unanimous: better conditions. In Latin America, the workers made themselves felt to denounce inequalities and injustices, while others supported the social demands that their political leaders promised.

Colombia: Petro warns that restricting reforms can lead to “a revolution”

In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro called to the streets to support the “reforms for change” promoted by his government and which lack the necessary support in Congress for their approval. In a speech delivered from the balcony of the Casa de Nariño, the presidential headquarters, Petro defended the reforms presented by his ministers to Congress: agrarian, health, labor and pension reforms.

“We cannot go back, let the millions of Colombians who went to the polls to change Colombia lose their momentum. We cannot leave the great change reforms alone,” said Petro, who took the opportunity to lash out at his critics in Congress. .

“We have tried to comply with that guideline of the people that was expressed at the polls, who knew it was time to leave the barricade to go to the polls by millions because it was there from where the history of Colombia could be changed,” said the president. , the first from the left of the South American country.

The president also criticized, as he has done in the past, “some elites that have become accustomed to the thought of the slaveholder do not see freedom in the granting of rights, on the contrary (…) they believe that the more rights they are hand over to the people, less freedom”.

For this reason, according to him, “the people cannot fall asleep, it is not enough to win at the polls, social change implies a permanent struggle and that struggle takes place with a mobilized people.” At the same time he made a call to lead these demands to the youth, the workers and the working class.

Several of Petro’s progressive reforms are stalled in congress, where he does not have a majority and recently broke with the party coalition he had in congress. The president argued that in order to promote the reforms he had to reform the government cabinet and removed seven ministers.

“They believed that once Petro was cornered, he would drop (from) the idea of ​​the great transformation, of social change (…) and that he would not bother anymore (…) but that is not our destiny, our destiny is to succeed in the reforms “, he expressed.

The president took advantage of the audience in the square to attack the media that criticized the health reform promoted by his government. “The phrases of the media that repeat over and over again telling the people that we have one of the best health systems in the world are lies. What a great lie, what a way to deceive,” he said.

In a clear warning to his adversaries, Petro assured that “the attempt to stifle the reforms could lead to a revolution.”

“I wonder if the time has come for the working people to make decisions, no longer simply protest, but decide to govern, a government that has to be of majorities, of a mobilized people,” added the Colombian.

Venezuela: Maduro promises more bonuses to compensate salaries

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the increase in two bonuses, one of 40 and 20 dollars a month, dedicated to food received by active workers and another for pensioners and other sectors.

“I believe, and it is the proposal that I make to you, (…) bring the Cestaticket (food voucher) to 40 dollars a month and the war bond to 20 dollars, in addition to the salary,” Maduro commented in Caracas for El Día Worker’s International.

The last increase that received the food bonus was in March 2022, when it went from 3 bolivars (about 0.7 dollars) to 45 bolivars (about 1.8 dollars currently). This would be the bet, according to Maduro, to apply an “emergency plan” and “resistance” that allows the “recovery of wages” in collective agreements.

“We must arrive sooner than later, have the security and confidence that we will arrive sooner rather than later to the full recovery of wages, but now we have to resist and resist strongly,” Maduro added.

“We are going step by step, comrades, I would like to have the resources to do more, but we are doing more with less, which is affected by sanctions, which is affected by corruption, because to the damage and wounds that the blockade has created on a daily basis, a appalling corruption of people we trusted, and used their positions to rob the country,” he added.

Venezuelan unions mobilized in Caracas to demand decent wages. The last salary increase was in 2022, when it went from 7 to 130 bolivars. At the time, the minimum wage was around $30, but the Venezuelan currency has devalued 82% since then, according to independent estimates.

Currently, the food basket is around 510 dollars and the country has a year-on-year inflation rate of 501%, according to the independent Venezuelan Finance Observatory. Venezuela has been going through a deep economic crisis for a decade that has been aggravated by international sanctions, which include an oil embargo.

“While the government plays at wear and tear, we remain on the streets for our dignity, for a decent wage. If there is no response, because we have been doing this for 10 years, the workers are going to organize for political change in this country”, assured the union leader, Mauro Zambrano.

Argentina: inflation drowns workers

In Buenos Aires, Peronist and leftist social movements commemorated Labor Day in rejection of the government’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Argentine workers called for “the defeat of the adjustment and the government’s pact with the IMF, supported by all the bosses’ parties.”

The leader of the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy, Juan Grabois, pointed out on Twitter, referring to the demonstrations, that “they flood 9 de Julio to remind everyone that they fought, fight and will fight for Land, Roof and Work in the street, whoever governs governs”. And he claimed: “No to the adjustment. Out with the IMF. Pay the debt with the people.”

For his part, President Alberto Fernández celebrated that his government has “the lowest unemployment in decades (6.3%) and many provinces have full employment” and that “the country continues to grow with more opportunities for the people.”

But Argentina has an annual inflation of 104.3%, one of the highest in the world and represents a drop in the purchasing power of wages, in a country with high labor informality and poverty that registered 39.2% in 2022.

The union center, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) called for “a great political consensus” and showed its support for the presidential candidacy of Sergio Massa, the current Minister of Economy. Other organizations accuse the CGT of supporting “the economic disaster” experienced by the majority of workers in Argentina.

Brazil: ‘Lula’ announces the increase in the minimum wage

Increasing the minimum wage and raising the income tax exemption for low-income workers were the most important announcements made by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva during his Labor Day speech.

Lula promised that he will present in Congress a law to adjust the minimum wage annually so that it is above inflation, while the income tax exemption would gradually increase until 2026 for workers who earn up to 5,000 reais, about 1,003 dollars. , a month.

In Brazil, workers who earn up to 1,903.98 reais a month do not pay income tax, but the rule has not been updated since 2015, increasing the tax burden on lower-paid Brazilians.

The Brazilian announced that the income tax exemption will be extended to people who earn up to 2,640 reais a month, and the minimum wage will increase from 1,302 reais to 1,320 reais as of May 1.

‘Lula’ announced the creation of a working group to regulate home delivery drivers and drivers linked to mobile applications such as Uber, Didi or Cabify, a years-long claim made by various social sectors and unions.

With Reuters and EFE