In the middle of the cliff conflict with the unions representing the employees of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the government of Javier Milei took the first step to get rid of the state company, which must be endorsed by Congress.
A decree signed by Milei and published in the Official Gazette declared the airline “subject to privatization” arguing that Argentines should not continue financing “the deficit of an inefficient company.” Privatization also seeks to take care of the public coffers, one of the basic principles of the adjustment policies that Milei has implemented since he assumed the presidency more than nine months ago.
The decree indicated that the privatization of the company “must be carried out by the National Executive Branch and then approved by law by Congress.”
The president seeks to accelerate the transfer of Airlines into private hands at a time when there are two projects in that regard. The ruling party is at a numerical disadvantage in both legislative chambers and will need the votes of its allies to carry out its plan.
Airlines, privatized in 1989 and whose management in the hands of Spanish capital was highly questioned in the South American country, returned to the State in 2008 during the mandate of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015).
Since then, according to the Milei government, state contributions for the maintenance of the company exceeded 8 billion dollars.
The decree noted that despite the “serious economic result produced by the management of Aerolíneas Argentinas, its employees maintain important benefits that contribute to worsening the situation.”
The measure takes place in the midst of a tough confrontation between the government and unionists representing the company’s pilots and cabin crew. The unions maintain that inflation has caused a loss of their purchasing power of around 75% and they have demanded increases of 25%, but the government has offered them 11%.
The accumulated inflation In the first eight months of the year it was 94.8%. Meanwhile, the year-on-year increase in the cost of living was around 236%.
In the absence of responses, unions have carried out strikes and assemblies in recent weeks that have caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights and millions in losses.
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