Argentina's newly elected president Javier Milei's proposed austerity and economic shock therapy measures violate human rights and can only have disastrous consequences for the Argentine people. Historical examples of the use of economic shock therapy, such as in Russia and the Eastern Bloc following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s have universally been unsuccessful, in the aforementioned example, causing drastic decreases in quality of life and increases in the mortality rate (Russian mortality trends for 1991-2001: analysis by cause and region - PMC (nih.gov)). Milei's poorly thought-out plans will have the same effect on the Argentine economy. Already, Milei has devalued the Argentine peso by 50% (Argentina’s Milei starts shock therapy by devaluing peso by 50 percent | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera) and laid off 5,000 government employees (Argentina's new president lays off 5,000 government employees hired in 2023, before he took office | AP News), as well as promising to cut social spending, cut most of the government ministries (Explainer: What does Argentina's 'shock therapy' economic package involve? | Reuters), and sell off large portions of the government's property to private and foreign corporations (Argentina's Milei signs decree to boost exports, deregulation | Reuters). These targeted attacks on government infrastructure will only exacerbate the harm done to the poor and working classes of Argentina by the continuing economic crisis (Argentina poverty rate rises to 40.1% in first half of 2023 | Reuters, Argentina's annual inflation soars to 211.4%, the highest in 32 years | AP News) and can only set them up for further distress in the future.

We demand that:

• Milei restore the thousands of jobs lost in his layoffs
• The ministries and secretariats closed under the Milei administration be reopened
• Social spending be restored to pre-Milei levels and raised if necessary
• Government owned industries are not sold to private corporations
• Labor rights attacked by the Milei administration are restored and preserved
• The Argentine National Congress blocks any further harsh austerity measures proposed by the Milei presidency