The Argentine government has confirmed it will apply the anti-picket protocol during the march called by the CGT and other union centrals this Thursday in rejection of the labor reform promoted by the Executive Branch. The march, with its concentration point at Plaza de Mayo, will mark the first major challenge on the streets for the new Minister of Security, Alejandra Monteoliva, successor to Patricia Bullrich. From the Casa Rosada and the Ministry of Security, they have downplayed the political impact of the union protest and ensured it will not influence the legislative course of the project. In the ruling coalition, they highlight their experience and emphasize that the decision is to maintain a firm stance, without provoking the unions, but without yielding control of public space. "Everything will be fine on the sidewalk," an official ironically said on the eve of the march. The minister announced that the operation will be carried out under the same guidelines that are usually applied in demonstrations in front of the Congress. "Nothing changes, the protocol will be applied," official sources told La Nación, insisting that the mobilization will have "zero influence" on the parliamentary debate of the initiative sent to the Senate. Monteoliva, who until now served as Secretary of Security, was one of the officials in charge of executing the anti-picket protocol during the previous administration. "We analyze each mobilization as always: how many people are coming, how they move, and how to encapsulate the different groups," she explained in television statements, while reaffirming that "public order is not negotiable." The union call comes after the CGT expressed its rejection of the final text of the labor reform presented by the Government. After participating in the Council of May, the central labor body decided not to support the project and to proceed with the mobilization, to which the two CTA and social and piquetero organizations joined. Meanwhile, from the Casa Rosada, they downplay the political weight of the union protest. From the CGT leadership, they warned that the official initiative constitutes "an attack on the individual and collective rights of workers."
