A-Infos (en) Germany, Die Platform: Those at the top are pushing through the reforms, while resistance is growing from below. (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Position of organized anarchism in Argentina, March 2026 ---- The labor 
law reform championed by the Milei government , as we know, does not 
represent a legal modernization of labor law, but rather is the 
centerpiece of a comprehensive scheme to exploit and precarize 
employment , comparable only to what the last military dictatorship 
implemented. It directly benefits employers (as Caputo stated when he 
called on employers' associations to welcome the law) by eliminating or 
restricting historical tools of industrial action. Far from creating 
stable and regular jobs, it provides legal instruments to dismiss 
workers and further destabilize their employment relationships.

The economic model being imposed by those in power is by no means aimed 
at creating new jobs, but rather directly benefits large agricultural 
export companies and transnational commodity corporations, which employ 
a negligible number of workers compared to the massive layoffs in the 
country's declining manufacturing industries. Specifically, we are 
seeing how the drastic decline in consumption and the indiscriminate 
opening to imports since Milei took office have led to the closure of 
21,339 businesses particularly in the textile, food, and automotive 
sectors. As we observe, faced with the hollowing out and closure of 
companies, large corporations are redirecting their investments into the 
agricultural export and energy sectors, as well as financial 
speculation, or are leaving the country altogether, abandoning hundreds 
of thousands of workers, as happened in recent days with the Fate 
workers. In this context, we are witnessing a deepening shift towards a 
greater reprimanding of the country's economic and productive structure.

One could also say that this course of action enjoys broad consensus 
among large segments of the political class, the governors, and, of 
course, the National Congress, which has become a mere rubber stamp for 
the president. Aside from the legislative circus of shouting and heroic 
speeches, the opposition is simply legitimizing the institution and the 
instrument that will worsen the lives of millions of people across the 
country, while the political class lives off millionaire salaries.

They strike from above on multiple fronts simultaneously.

On the other hand, it is striking how the Milei government is employing 
the same tactic as Macri a decade ago: simultaneously pushing forward 
its anti-popular measures on various fronts in labor, the environment, 
criminal law, and social welfare to hinder a decisive response from 
popular organizations, exploiting the lack of comprehensive coordination 
within the popular resistance. The repeal of the Glacier Law or the 
lowering of the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles would, in 
any case, have warranted a large-scale mobilization of the population.

In conclusion, the importance of this law to the government must be 
emphasized, as well as the haste with which it is to be passed as 
quickly as possible. The draft legislation received little publicity in 
the mass media and was even misrepresented. While every professional 
association and every sector of the labor market was hastily informed 
about the implications of the law, the absence and lack of grassroots 
work by most unions over the past decades became painfully apparent.

ON THE ROAD TO LEGAL CHAOS IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

In the days leading up to the debate on the bill in the House of 
Representatives, we observed a handful of journalists and panelists 
reacting with outrage after some articles of the reform became public, 
revealing the deeply regressive nature of the draft.

As we have already stated in previous comments, the law leads to 
normative chaos in the relations between employees and employers, in 
which the power of employers becomes even more apparent , guarantees are 
abolished, and the instability of employment relationships becomes the 
norm for all employees.

Key aspects of the legal chaos that the government and employers intend 
to create with this law include the constant renegotiation of collective 
agreements and the precedence of company agreements .

TERRIFYING FIGURES ON THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS

As always, the consequences of these policies fall on the shoulders of 
the oppressed class. According to the Mirador de la Actualidad del 
Trabajo y la Economía (MATE), private sector wages have stagnated for a 
year, and since the Milei government took office, they have fallen by a 
total of 6% (in August 2025, they were 21% below the 2015 level), while 
public sector wages fell by 20% over the same period. This means that 
every private sector worker has suffered a loss of almost 2 million 
pesos since December 2023, while every public sector employee has lost 
10 million pesos.

On the other hand, although officially around 6.9%, unemployment masks a 
massive precariousness: 38.2% of wage earners are in informal 
employment, without access to basic rights and holding more than one 
job; multiple employment has increased by 12% in the first half of 2026 
alone (40% in the last eight years). This reflects increasing poverty, 
which is further exacerbated by higher unemployment and exploitation.

Overall, it is estimated that since Milei took office, the transfer of 
income from the working class to concentrated capital has amounted to 
approximately 48.8 trillion pesos .

RESISTANCE GROWS FROM BELOW

Even though the general strike of February 19th was a success in terms 
of high participation (reportedly between 70 and 90%), the paralysis 
imposed by the main, compliant union leaderships is more than obvious. 
They are trying to contain conflicts in order to retain control over the 
union funds.

The results show that the large-scale industrial action of recent weeks 
- such as the general strike or the mass mobilization of February 11 - 
was insufficient to halt the progress of the labor law. This underscores 
the continued decisive influence of subservient leadership: firstly, the 
core group from the healthcare, trade, and food sectors, and secondly, 
the group from UOCRA, UPCN, and Obras Sanitarias, which act as veritable 
dams against conflict.

Nevertheless, a militant pole has formed around the Union Front of Unity 
(FreSU) , consisting, among others, of UOM, Aceiteros, ATE, Papeleros, 
the two CTAs, Docentes, and parts of the CATT. This union pole 
transcends the three central unions while simultaneously maintaining a 
healthy class independence from parties and governments . However, this 
growing space has not yet matured enough to surpass the dynamism of the 
former, remaining limited to sporadic strikes and tentative mobilizations.

In addition to this difficulty, we are once again witnessing how a 
segment of the party-political left prioritizes the leading role of its 
political apparatuses, operating under the logic of an "enlightened 
vanguard," thereby marginalizing the role of trade unions and works 
councils. This is achieved, for example, by occupying the front rows at 
demonstrations or by splitting joint actions at crucial moments. The 
logic suggests that resistance to labor legislation must be led by the 
trade unions themselves. Furthermore, for a worker who has not yet 
joined the struggle, a workers' mobilization is certainly far more 
accessible than an action led by political parties, whose leaders are 
almost all unemployed.

On the other hand, as a consequence of this long-standing gap between 
the rank and file and the union representatives and since many comrades 
have decided to join the struggle some provinces have seen experiences 
with self-organized mobilizations that, while massive, are 
simultaneously uncoordinated, lacking perspective and planning. In some 
cases, they have even been marked by a certain confusion stemming from 
nationalist ideas, where attempts have been made to link the struggle 
for wages with the demands of repressive forces. At this point, we 
reaffirm once again regardless of who leads them the trade union as a 
genuine instrument of the working class. An instrument with which the 
most important achievements of the labor movement have been won.

Strengthening constitutional complaints through direct action

Given this situation, the task is clear and urgent: we cannot leave our 
defense to mere legality, as some union leaders are attempting to do. 
Legal challenges are pending against the reform and against certain 
articles of it that border on the scandalous, such as the deregulation 
of ship personnel, the attack on collective bargaining agreements, and 
payment in kind. However, these legal remedies must be underpinned by 
direct action . The lessons of history show that state justice alone 
does not rule in favor of the oppressed, but only through social conflict.

SOLIDARITY WITH THE OCCUPATIONS AND THE DISCHARGED

In this bleak environment, and as in 2001, given the increase in mass 
layoffs and company closures, the occupation of factories and workplaces 
is developing into a legitimate form of resistance . The occupations 
initiated by metalworkers in Tierra del Fuego or tire workers at FATE, 
as well as the occupation of courthouses by judicial employees in Buenos 
Aires, express a tension at the limits of legalism and attempt at least 
tactically to limit the advance of employers. They politicize the 
conflicts and demonstrate that direct action and grassroots-organized 
power are the inevitable response of the workers. Of course, this action 
does not resolve the fundamental issue, not least because running a 
company in the midst of an industrial crisis is extremely complex in 
this context (whether due to the payment chain, the production location, 
or the financing of raw materials). Nevertheless , it makes it possible 
to unite the affected workers in a collective act of resistance .

BUNDLING FORCES FOR AUTONOMOUS TRADE UNION COORDINATIONS

In this context, and to ensure the continued growth of resistance, it is 
necessary to contribute forces to union coordinations such as FreSU or 
the Rosario Union Coordination , which united at the ATE General 
Assembly in October 2025 - both spaces characterized by a 
class-independent stance towards political parties and candidates of any 
kind . In times of personality cults and union egos, a primary task of 
anarchist militancy is to build bridges between unions, bring together 
disparate sectors, and expand coordinating bodies - from the top down, 
but above all from the bottom up, between the grassroots.

In addition to the nationwide protests against the labor law reform and 
its consequences, the fight for wages, working conditions, and job 
security must be intensified in every sector of the economy and in every 
province . Governors also bear responsibility for the plight of the 
population.

DO NOT NEED TO NEGLECTE THE INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC FIGHT, STRENGTHEN GROUNDWORK

Nevertheless, we must not neglect the specific struggles of each 
individual sector at present, because only in this way can we gather 
strength and convince our comrades of the necessity to grow as an 
organized social force in this context . Confidence in our own strength 
must be restored through immediate and sectoral achievements. It is time 
to further expand the organized base, to reach one comrade after another 
- in the times ahead, no one will be expendable.

OAC - Organización Anarquista de Córdoba

OAT - Organización Anarquista de Tucuman

ORA - Organización Resistencia Anarquista (Buenos Aires)

OASC - Organización Anarquista de Santa Cruz

La Tordo Negro - organizing an acquisition process

Organización Impulso Anarquista (Neuquén-Río Negro)

FAR - Federación Anarquista de Rosario

https://www.dieplattform.org/2026/03/26/die-von-oben-setzen-die-reformen-durch-von-unten-waechst-der-widerstand/#more-3559
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