Misplaced Pages

General Confederation of Labour of the Argentines

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The General Confederation of Labor (in Spanish : Confederación General del Trabajo , CGT ) is a national trade union federation in Argentina founded on 27 September 1930, as the result of the merger of the U.S.A ( Unión Sindical Argentina ) and the C.O.A ( Confederación Obrera Argentina ) trade unions. Nearly one out of five employed – and two out of three unionized workers in Argentina – belong to the CGT, one of the largest labor federations in the world.

#731268

81-726: The CGTA ( CGT de los Argentinos , or General Confederation of Labour of the Argentines) was an offshoot of the General Confederation of Labour created during the Normalisation Congress of the CGT of 28–30 March 1968, and which lasted until 1972. Behind the figure of the graphist Raimundo Ongaro (also close to the film movement Grupo Cine Liberación ), it gathered opponents to the "participationists" (the latter including Augusto Vandor , then leader of

162-659: A colonial Argentina, we want to be a free Argentina." Among other things, FORJA denounced the silence of the government on many problems such as the creation of the Central Bank, "economic sacrifices imposed in benefices of foreign capitalism", " petroleum politics ", "arbitrary military interventions", "restrictions to freedom of opinion", "incorporation to the League of Nations ", "suppression of relations with Russia", "parliamentary investigations", "the Senate crime", etc. At

243-425: A 1991 conference in which concern over new Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo 's free-market policies ruled the agenda, the CGT was reunited under an agreement to keep the union in a stance of conditional support for the measures, which had already been reigniting economic growth. The intransigent Ubaldini was replaced by Light and Power Workers' leader Oscar Lescano . The move caused some dissent, however, and led to

324-510: A 26-point program to support Justicialist Party nominee Carlos Menem 's presidential bid, including measures such as declaring a unilateral external debt default . Menem won the 1989 elections on a populist campaign platform, but entrusted the Ministry of Economy to the Bunge y Born company, a major agribusiness firm. This turn led to a rupture within the CGT in late 1989, though following

405-513: A 40% decline in real pay, as well as free trade policies and financial deregulation that damaged industrial output and domestic credit, adversely impacted the CGT. The "25" thus proclaimed the first of a series of general strikes against the dictatorship on 27 April 1979, and its leadership was jailed. Though still officially banned, these unions reconstituted the CGT as "CGT-Brasil" on 7 November 1980, and elected Beer Workers Union leader Saúl Ubaldini as secretary general. The regrouped CGT called

486-514: A British dominion because England does not take the liberty to impose similar humiliations upon its dominions." The National Democratic Party, one of the parties that had supported the nomination of Justo for President, had split because of this controversy. Finally the Senate rescinded the treaty on July 28. Many workers strikes followed the deliberations, especially in Santa Fé Province , which ended with government intervention. On

567-638: A commando killed Secretary-General Rucci. The Montoneros, who neither claimed responsibility nor denied it, were accused of Rucci's death, and the event triggered an escalating conflict between left and right-wing Peronists spearheaded by the Montoneros and the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance , respectively. Other CGT leaders killed by leftists include Machine and Autoworkers Union head Dirk Kloosterman and Construction Union head Rogelio Coria. Staunchly anti-Communist , in 1975

648-855: A month later. He was replaced by his vice-president Castillo, who began to work to launch the candidacy of Robustiano Patrón Costas , vice-president of the Senate and sugar entrepreneur, who had supported him in 1938. Meanwhile, the Democratic Union political coalition (which included the Radical Civic Union , the Democratic Progressive Party , as well as the Socialist Party and the Communist Party ) had been formed in 1942. Their electoral platform, aimed against endemic corruption, announced

729-707: A more radical union headed by Ongaro. The CGTA, which also included the Córdoba Light and Power Workers' leader Agustín Tosco , played a key role in the Cordobazo student-labor uprising of 1969, during which it called for a general strike. The military junta then jailed most of the CGTA leadership, who were close to left-wing causes such as the Movement of Priests for the Third World , Liberation Theology , and

810-571: A national general strike . Infamous Decade The Infamous Decade ( Spanish : Década Infame ) was a period in Argentine history that began with the 1930 coup d'état against President Hipólito Yrigoyen . This decade was marked on one hand by significant rural exodus , with many small rural landowners ruined by the Great Depression , which in turn pushed the country towards import substitution industrialization , and on

891-820: A predecessor of the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA). However, fearing electoral defeats for the Concordancia both in Santa Fe and in the Electoral College, Justo ordered military intervention in the Santa Fe Province on October 3, 1935, sending the Colonel Perlinger and the minister Joaquín F. Rodríguez to take control of the local government. Armed resistance against

SECTION 10

#1732772764732

972-627: A record 58%. After the Revolución Libertadora military coup in 1955, which ousted Perón and outlawed Peronism, the CGT was banned from politics and its leadership replaced with government appointees. In response, the CGT began a destabilization campaign to end Perón's proscription and to obtain his return from exile. Amid ongoing strikes over both declining real wages and political repression, AOT textile workers' leader Andrés Framini and President Arturo Frondizi negotiated an end to six years of forced government receivership over

1053-517: A second general strike on 22 July 1981, as a wave of bank failures led to sharp recession, and rallied tens of thousands. Even larger numbers responded to its call on 30 March, 1982, to demonstrate in favor of democracy on the Plaza de Mayo, in Buenos Aires, and in other cities throughout the country. Thousands were subsequently detained, and two days later, greatly weakened, the military junta began

1134-462: A solidarity network with comrades expelled under the 1902 Law on Residency which legalised the expulsion of immigrants who "compromise national security or disturb public order" , were considered as public enemies by Uriburu's dictatorship. Prior to their execution, three anarchist bombs had detonated at three strategic places on the Buenos Aires railway network on 20 January 1931, killing three and wounding 17. In 1942 Minister Solano Lima signed

1215-492: The Cordobazo uprising and the call for a general strike , which occurred on 30 June 1969, hours following Augusto Vandor's assassination. Thereafter, most of its leaders, including Raimundo Ongaro, Agustín Tosco, Elpidio Torres  [ es ] , Lorenzo Pepe , etc., were jailed. Following the failure of a 120 days strike at the Fabril Financiera , and the reconciliation between Augusto Vandor , leader of

1296-558: The Grupo Cine Liberación film movement. Following the failure of a 120-day strike at the Fabril Financiera industrial conglomerate, and the reconciliation between Augusto Vandor – leader of the "participationists" – and Perón, the CGTA witnessed many of its unions joining the "62 Organizations," the Peronist political front of the CGT. Perón and his delegate, Jorge Paladino, followed a cautious line of opposition to

1377-824: The Unión Popular , founded by former Foreign Minister Juan Atilio Bramuglia (who, as chief counsel for the Unión Ferroviaria rail workers' union, had a key role in forming the alliance between labor and Perón), and UOM steelworkers' leader Augusto Vandor , who endorsed the CGT's active participation in elections against Perón's wishes and became the key figure in this latter movement. Vandor and Perón both supported President Arturo Illia 's overthrow in 1966 , but failed to reach an agreement with dictator Juan Carlos Onganía afterward. While membership in CGT unions remained well below their peak before Perón's 1955 overthrow, they enjoyed unprecedented resources during

1458-670: The 2011 elections , however. Largely sidelined during the campaign and denied demands to include more CGT officials in the Front for Victory party list for Congress, Moyano's alliance with the Kirchner administration effectively ended with a series of strikes called by the Trucking Workers' Union (led by his son, Pablo) during June 2012, and by July Moyano had lost the support of most of the larger unions. These latter rallied behind Steelworkers' Union (UOM) leader Antonio Caló, who

1539-525: The European immigrants who brought with them socialist and anarchist ideas, these new city-dwellers would provide the social base, in the next decade, for Peronism . The democratic liberal senator Lisandro de la Torre (founder in 1914 of the Democratic Progressive Party ) denounced various scandals, directing an investigation on the meat trade starting in 1935. In the midst of the investigation, de la Torre's disciple, senator-elect Enzo Bordabehere ,

1620-494: The Falklands War in an ill-fated attempt to bolster nationalistic feeling and unite the country behind its rule. Elections now imminent, the CGT was again split in 1982 over the issue of combativeness, with Plastics Union leader Jorge Triaca heading the pro-dialogue faction at Azopardo Street with the support of UOM leader Lorenzo Miguel, and Ubaldini again heading the more combative faction from Brasil Street. Disunity at

1701-578: The Infamous Decade of the 1930s and subsequent industrial development, the CGT began to form itself as a strong union, competing with the historically anarchist FORA V (Argentine Regional Workers' Federation, Fifth Congress). Centered initially around the railroad industry, the CGT was headed in the 1930s by Luis Cerruti and José Domenech ( Unión Ferroviaria ); Ángel Borlenghi ( Confederación General de Empleados de Comercio ); and Francisco Pérez Leirós ( Unión de Obreros Municipales ). The CGT became

SECTION 20

#1732772764732

1782-701: The Plaza de Mayo , on 17 October 1945, succeeding in releasing Perón from prison and in the call for elections. Founding on the same day the Labour Party ( Partido Laborista ), the CGT was one of the main support of Perón during the February 1946 elections . The Labor Party merged into the Peronist Party in 1947, and the CGT became one of the strongest arms of the Peronist Movement , as well as

1863-770: The Revolutionary Syndicalist Unión Sindical Argentina (USA), which had succeeded to the FORA IX (Argentine Regional Workers' Federation, Ninth Congress); smaller, Communist -led unions later joined the CGT as well. The COA, which included the two unions covering rail transport in Argentina ( Unión Ferroviaria and La Fraternidad ), was the larger of the two with 100,000 members; the USA, which included, telephone, port, tramway, and public sector unions, represented 15,000. During

1944-528: The Sacco and Vanzetti case and at attacking Fascist Italy 's interests in Argentina—three anarchists were given life sentences during a show trial in which they were tortured , on the charges of having assassinated family members of conservative politician José M. Blanch. Known as the "prisoners of Bragado " ( presos de Bragado ), the case raised international public indignation. Anarchists, who had created

2025-576: The Unión Sindical Argentina (USA) in 1937. The CGT again split in 1942, creating the CGT n°1, headed by the Socialist railroader José Domenech and opposed to Communism; and the CGT n°2, also headed by a Socialist (Pérez Leirós), which gathered Communist unions (construction, meat, print) and some important Socialist unions (such as the retail workers' union led by Borlenghi and the municipal workers' union led by Pérez Leirós). After

2106-476: The coup d'état of 1943 , its leaders embraced the pro-working class policies of the Labour Minister, Col. Juan Perón . The CGT was again unified, due to the incorporation of many unionists who were members of the CGT n°2, dissolved in 1943 by the military government. When Perón was separated from the government and confined on Martín García Island , the CGT called for a major popular demonstration at

2187-561: The political opposition (mainly against the UCR ) and generalised government corruption, against the background of the Great Depression . The impact of the economic crisis forced many farmers and other countryside workers to relocate to the outskirts of the larger cities, resulting in the creation of the first villas miseria (shanty towns). Thus, the population of Buenos Aires jumped from 1.5 million inhabitants in 1914 to 3.5 million in 1935. Lacking in political experience, in contrast with

2268-521: The "most burlesque" and "fraudulent" elections of the Infamous Decade (according to the words of the US ambassador, ) commissioned the architect Francisco Salamone various buildings, which combined Art Deco , functionalism , Futurism and Fascist architectures . Although the Great Depression and the subsequent rural exodus had brought many politically inexperienced workers to Buenos Aires ,

2349-562: The "participationists", with Juan Perón , the CGTA witnessed many of its unions joining the 62 Organisations , the Peronist political front of the CGT. Despite this, in 1969, the CGTA still boasted 286,184 members, while the Nueva Corriente de Opinión (or Participationism), headed by José Alonso and Rogelio Coria  [ es ] boasted 596,863 members and the CGT Azopardo, headed by Vandor, boasted 770,085 members and

2430-536: The 1932 Ottawa Conference , the British had adopted measures that favored imports from its own colonies and dominions. The pressure from Argentine landowners for whom the government restored trade with the main buyer of Argentine grain and meat had been very strong. Led by the president of the British Trade Council, Viscount Walter Runciman , they were intense and resulted in the signing on April 27 of

2511-586: The 1938 elections were launched at the British Chamber of Commerce, and supported by its president William Mc Callum . Ortiz, a former Alvearista, was fraudulently elected, and assumed his new office in February 1938. However, without much success, he attempted to clean up the country's corruption, ordering federal intervention in the Province of Buenos Aires , governed by Manuel Fresco, and cancelling

General Confederation of Labour of the Argentines - Misplaced Pages Continue

2592-780: The 1960s. The CGT diversified their assets (largely restituted by Frondizi) through investment banking via the Banco Sindical , captive insurance , and investments such as real estate ; indeed, by 1965, union dues accounted for only a third of CGT unions' income as a whole. Besides strike funds and employee health insurance organizations ( obras sociales ), unions plowed these profits into member services such as clinics, retirement homes, kindergartens, libraries, technical schools, subsidized retail chains, and hotels in seaside Mar del Plata and elsewhere. A thriving balance sheet also increasingly engendered corruption among union leaders, however. Many solicited bribes from employers using

2673-666: The Argentine affiliate of the International Federation of Trade Unions (an organization that both USA and COA had been members of for shorter periods). The CGT split in 1935 over a conflict between Socialists and Revolutionary Syndicalists, leading to the creation of the CGT-Independencia (Socialists & Communists) and the CGT-Catamarca (Revolutionary Syndicalists). The latter reestablished

2754-591: The CGT affiliated itself with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). Following the March 1976 coup , however, 10,000 factory delegates, of a total of 100,000, were arrested. During the Dirty War of the second half of the 1970s at least 2,700, or 30%, of the disappeared were blue-collar workers; this included numerous CGT leaders and activists, notably René Salamanca of

2835-534: The CGT and a renewed wave of strikes dovetailed into an effective campaign message by the Peronists' traditional rivals – the UCR and its nominee, Raúl Alfonsín – who denounced both the ongoing chaos and the association between Labor and the junta, criticizing a "military-labor pact." Elected President of Argentina in 1983 , he failed in 1984 to pass a new law through the Senate regulating trade unions and guaranteeing freedom of association, and in negotiations with

2916-446: The CGT in 1961. This concession, as well as the lifting of the Peronists' electoral ban in 1962, led to Frondizi's overthrow, however. During the 1960s, the leaders of the CGT attempted to create a "Peronism without Perón" – that is, a form of Peronism that retained the populist ideals set forth by Juan Perón, but rejected the personality cult that had developed around him in the 1940s and 1950s. The chief exponents of this strategy were

2997-646: The CGT under a triumvirate led by Rodolfo Daer, Juan Carlos Schmidt, and Carlos Acuña. Each represents the three CGT factions: Daer, the CGT-Alsina led by Antonio Caló; Schmidt, the CGT-Azopardo led by Hugo Moyano; and Acuña, the Blue & White CGT (the most conservative) led by Luis Barrionuevo. The triumvirate was formally sworn in on August 22. Upon the election of Javier Milei and subsequent protests against him , CGT, with its now seven million members, led

3078-532: The CGT was again strained in 2000. President Fernando de la Rúa 's push for labor law flexibilization ended in scandal and undid his rapprochement with Daer and the CGT leadership; Daer's conciliatory stance, in turn, resulted in a "Rebel" CGT faction led by Julio Piumato and made Moyano's break with the CGT official. The collapse of de la Rúa's government in late 2001 made way for the parliamentary selection of former Buenos Aires Province Governor Eduardo Duhalde , whose alliance to MTA leader Hugo Moyano helped lead to

3159-438: The CGT, José Ignacio Rucci , José Alonso , etc.) who supported collaboration with Juan Carlos Onganía 's military dictatorship (1966–1970). The CGTA gathered many unionist delegates who refused to participate to the Normalisation Congress, opposing collaboration with the junta. It had support from various artists, among whom Rodolfo Walsh , author of the "Program of 1st of May" of the CGTA and chief editor of its weekly. The CGTA

3240-408: The CGT, Alfonsín conceded the position of Minister of Labor to a CGT figure (Pasta Makers' Union leader Hugo Barrionuevo). The CGT was reunited under Ubaldini following the 1983 elections. Amid a renewed decline in real wages the CGT called 13 general strikes during Alfonsín's government, as well as hundreds of sectoral strikes. With hyperinflation corroding the economy by 1989, the CGT introduced

3321-505: The CGT-Brasil and the CGT-Azopardo were named after the streets on which the headquarters were located. CGT-Azopardo was thus able to negotiate with the military dictatorship the control of employee health insurance organizations. The CGT and labor in general was suppressed not only directly, but by a sharp turn to the right in economic policy embodied by Economy Minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz . Repeated wage freezes that led to

General Confederation of Labour of the Argentines - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-482: The CGT. The pragmatic Miguel thus turned a rival into an ally, while impeding the more combative Light and Power workers' leader, Agustín Tosco , from rising to the powerful post. Rucci maintained good relations with the dictatorship and earned the aging Perón's friendship. The next years were blemished by often bloody internal disputes and the fight against the leftist Montoneros , however, and in September 1973,

3483-568: The Córdoba Auto Workers' Union and Light and Power Union leader Oscar Smith. At first temporarily suspended, the CGT was then dissolved by the junta . Despite having been outlawed, by 1978 the CGT unions had reorganized themselves into two factions: one supporting frontal opposition to the dictatorship (known initially as the "Commission of 25"), and the other supporting negotiation with the military, named at first CNT and then CGT-Azopardo (led by Ramón Baldassini and Jorge Triaca); both

3564-500: The Infamous Decade, led to investigations following the revolution of 1943 that deposed Ramón Castillo 's government in a military coup, and to the subsequent Rodríguez Conde report on concessions given to the electrical companies. In 1931, a year after the execution of the Italian anarchist Severino Di Giovanni and his comrade Paulino Scarfó—who had implemented a propaganda of the deed campaign aimed both at international support of

3645-491: The Juntas destroyed entire loads of corn , used as fuel for locomotives, despite popular hunger. Thirty million pesos per year were spent to destroy wine products. Furthermore, Pinedo launched a national project of road construction, the national network reaching 30,000 kilometers in 1938 (although many remained without pavement). This competed with the railway system , in the hands of mostly British companies, and furthered

3726-523: The Justicialist Party, continued to be beset by disunity, moreover. Long-standing differences with Restaurant Workers' leader Luis Barrionuevo  [ es ] led to a new schism within the CGT during 2008, when Barrionuevo led 40 unions into a "Blue-and-White" CGT. Moyano secured his reelection as CGT head, however, and retained the support of 134 unions, including most of the larger ones. His alliance with Kirchnerism eroded quickly after

3807-685: The Perón years, from 520,000 (of which half belonged to the CGT) to over 2.5 million (all belonging to the CGT's 2,500 affiliated unions). His administration also enacted or significantly extended numerous landmark social reforms supported by the CGT, including: minimum wages ; labor courts ; collective bargaining rights; improvements in housing, health and education; social insurance; pensions; economic policies which encouraged import substitution industrialization ; growth in real wages of up to 50%; and an increased share of employees in national income from 45% to

3888-523: The Roca-Runciman Treaty. The treaty created a scandal, because the UK allotted Argentina a quota less than any of its dominions—390,000 tons of meat per year were allotted to Argentina in exchange for many concessions to British companies, and 85% of exportation had to be arranged through British refrigerated shippers. In addition, the tariffs of the railways operated by the UK were not regulated,

3969-573: The conservatives voted against his plan, which led him to resign. During World War II, Argentina maintained the same neutrality it had adopted during the first World War , which was advantageous for Great Britain. Although the USA attempted to push the country into the war, during the January 1942 Rio de Janeiro Conference , Argentina resisted, with support from the British. A few months later, in June 1942, Ortiz resigned because of his sickness, and died

4050-514: The direction of Minister of Economy Federico Pinedo from Independent Socialist Party , economic policy became interventionist, although still in a conservative aim. Pinedo created the Central Bank (BCRA), which was advised by Sir Otto Niemeyer , the director of the Bank of England . The BCRA's board of director was mainly composed of personalities tied to private banks. It had as its missions

4131-523: The establishment of the Central de Trabajadores Argentinos (CTA), led by Víctor de Gennaro, and to the development of a dissident faction led by Truckers' Union leader Hugo Moyano , the MTA. Menem's ample victories in the 1991 mid-term elections gave momentum to his agenda of labour reforms, many of which included restricting overtime pay and easing indemnifications for layoffs, for instance. Under pressure from

SECTION 50

#1732772764732

4212-576: The external debt of the province, which permitted Santa Fe's budget to become positive. Henceforth, he subsidized public works under the impulsion of the minister Alberto Casella , leading to increased local employment. He also implemented moderate land reforms, harshly opposed by the conservative and Alvearist radicals, as well as the Sociedad Rural . Finally, he created the Experimental Institute of Agricultural Investigation,

4293-550: The federal intervention occurred, but in order to avoid a bloodbath, Molinas and De la Torre rejected the resistance. Rodríguez soon abrogated again the 1921 Constitution and progressively dismantled Molinas' achievements. Justo had already ordered intervention in the Provinces of San Juan and Tucumán in 1934, and ordered similar military interventions in Catamarca , Santa Fe and Buenos Aires in 1935 (the latter enabling

4374-532: The fraudulent election of Manuel Fresco as governor ). Despite this federal intervention, Marcelo Alvear 's Radical party (UCR) decided in 1935 to abandon its abstentionist policy protesting the fraud. Opposed to Alvear's turnaround, in 1935, young Yrigoyenistas from a nationalist background founded FORJA ( Fuerza Orientadora Radical de la Juventud Argentina , Radical Orienting Force of Argentine Youth), which had as leaders Arturo Jauretche , Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz and Gabriel del Mazo . FORJA's motto was: "We are

4455-453: The fraudulent elections which had been won by the conservative Alberto Barceló . Federico Pinedo, still Minister of Economy, presented on 18 November 1940 an "Economic Reactivation Plan", which was to implement some protectionist measures and building of social lodging in order to face the crisis. He also proposed the nationalization of the British railways, having agreed upon advantageous terms for their owners with them beforehand. However,

4536-414: The gathering of much of what remained of the CGT under his leadership. The reunited CGT elected Moyano Secretary General in 2004. Benefiting from a close alliance with Kirchnerism (in power in Argentine Government since 2003), Moyano leveraged his capacity as head of the Council on Salaries (an officially sanctioned advisory board) to secure a stronger collective bargaining position and frequent increases in

4617-517: The government's neoliberal policies, whose emphasis on free trade and sharp productivity gains they believed responsible for the highest unemployment rates since the great depression. Aside from these shows of force, the CGT, led by Food Processing Union leader Rodolfo Daer, remained conciliatory with the anti-labor Menem for the sake of the Justicialist Party . The party's defeats in the 1997 mid-term elections bode poorly for their chances in 1999 (elections they went on to lose). Cohesiveness within

4698-407: The majority in the Confederal Congress. General Confederation of Labour (Argentina) It was founded in 1930 by socialists , communists and independents to generate a plural union central. It had a socialist majority until 1945 and Peronist since then. The CGT was founded on 27 September 1930, the result of an agreement between the Socialist Confederación Obrera Argentina (COA) and

4779-415: The majority in the Confederal Congress. The 1969 assassination of UOM Secretary General Augusto Vandor, and that of the CGT Secretary General, José Alonso, in 1970, created a power vacuum that left Vandor's conservative successor at the UOM, Lorenzo Miguel , at the CGT's leading power-broker. He leveraged his influence to advance a rival within the UOM, José Ignacio Rucci , as the new Secretary General of

4860-499: The managing of the peso and the regulation of interest rates . Writer and thinker Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz was a strong critic of British involvement in Argentina, of which the BCRA itself was the prime example. The Juntas Reguladores Nacionales were also created during this period, aimed at developing private and state activities and controlling the quality of products, both for national consumption and for export. In order to support prices of products and avoid overproduction ,

4941-424: The military junta, criticizing with moderation the neoliberal policies of the junta but waiting for discontent inside the government. Despite this, in 1969 the CGTA still boasted 286,184 members; while the Nueva Corriente de Opinión (or Participationism), headed by José Alonso and Construction Union leader Rogelio Coria, boasted 596,863 members; and the CGT Azopardo, headed by Vandor, boasted 770,085 members and

SECTION 60

#1732772764732

5022-487: The minimum wage. From the 1990s onward, and in spite its strength as the only labor representative in many forums, the CGT has faced growing opposition from other trade unions, such as the CTA, or the left-leaning grassroots organisations of unemployed people known as Piqueteros ( Picketing Men), groups first in evidence during the Menem years which later become tenuously allied with the Kirchner administrations. The CGT, as fractious historically as its political partner

5103-409: The needs to guarantee "freedom of thought and assembly" and "labor union rights", as well as vouching for "active solidarity with the people struggling against the Nazi-Fascist aggression". On 4 June 1943, the nationalist faction of the army, gathered around the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos (GOU, formed in March 1943) opposed both to corruption and to the Conservative government, overthrew Castillo in

5184-432: The only trade union recognized by Perón's government. Two CGT delegates, the Socialist Ángel Borlenghi and Juan Atilio Bramuglia were nominated Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs , respectively. Colonel Domingo Mercante , who was perhaps the military officer with the closest ties to labor, was elected Governor of Buenos Aires (a key constituency). The number of unionized workers grew markedly during

5265-416: The other hand, by electoral fraud to perpetuate conservative governments in power. The poor results of economic policies and popular discontent led to another coup in 1943, the Revolution of 1943 , by the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos (GOU), a nationalist faction of the Armed Forces , which triggered the rise to power of Juan Perón . Besides electoral fraud, this period was characterised by persecution of

5346-403: The other hand, the trade isolationism of the world powers ultimately prompted the beginning of Argentine industrial development via import substitution . Important firms, such as the Bunge & Born agribusiness food company and the Tornquist group , previously turned towards exports but began to diversify their activities and invest in national industries aimed at local consumption. Under

5427-451: The penetration of US firms selling motor vehicles in the Argentine market. US foreign direct investment (FDI) grew during this time, with companies such as the textile firms Sudamtex , Ducilo and Anderson Clayton establishing themselves in Argentina, as well as the tire companies Firestone and Goodyear , the electronics firm Philco and the chemistry firm Johnson & Johnson . Notable exceptions to these conservative policies were

5508-431: The policies of Luciano Molinas , governor of the Santa Fe Province (1932–1936) and one of the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party , and of Amadeo Sabattini , Governor of Córdoba (1936–1940). The first act of governor Molinas, assuming office on February 20, 1932, was to re-establish the progressive Constitution of the Santa Fe Province established by the Constituent Assembly of 1921, which had been abrogated by

5589-427: The prisoners' releases; their names were cleared by a 1993 law upheld by Socialist deputy Guillermo Estévez Boero . In 2003 a law granted a pension to the daughter of one of the anarchist victims of this show trial. In 1933 Arturo Jauretche took part in a failed uprising, led by Col. Francisco Bosch and Col. Gregorio Pomar in Paso de los Libres , in the province of Corrientes . He was subsequently detained. It

5670-545: The radical governor Enrique Mosca . He also ensured independence of the judicial system, tax equality, secular education , women's suffrage and right of foreigners' to vote for the election of communal authorities. Molinas' administration also created the Provincial Department of Labour, which ensured the observance of article 28 of the provincial Constitution, concerning the 8 hours day , minimum wages and regulation of child and female labour. Molinas also reduced his salary from 2,500 to 1,800 pesos, suspended payment of

5751-423: The rank-and-file, Lescano called for a general strike late in 1992 (the first during the Menem tenure). Increasingly marginalized within the Justicialist Party , however, he resigned the following May in favor of Steelworkers' leader Naldo Brunelli. The CGT endorsed Menem's 1995 re-election campaign ; but following a sharp recession, the CGT, CTA, and MTA reacted jointly in mid-1996 with two general strikes against

5832-626: The schism inevitable by refusing to certify Ongaro's election). The CGT would now be divided into the CGT-Azopardo, which gathered proponents of collaboration with the military junta (also named "participationists", including the general secretary of the CGT Augusto Vandor , as well as José Alonso and the future general secretary of the CGT-Azopardo José Ignacio Rucci ); and the CGTA ( CGT de los Argentinos ),

5913-414: The spontaneous import substitution industrialization enabled, starting in 1935, coupled to the strengthening of trade unions, wages' increase. Henceforth, a 48-hour general strike was launched in January 1936 by workers' in construction, during which 3 workers and 3 policemen were killed. Roberto Marcelino Ortiz and Ramón S. Castillo 's candidacies, respectively as president and vice-president, for

5994-444: The syndicalist current of the CGT was discredited, because of its supporting alliance with the government in order to achieve social advances, while the socialist current proposed open opposition, tied to political support to the Socialist party. The syndicalist current was in particular affected by its agreements with the pro- fascist governor of Buenos Aires , Manuel Fresco (1936–1940). The latter, who had been elected during one of

6075-483: The threat of strike action and one – Commercial Union leader Armando March – was convicted in 1969 of embezzling up to US$ 30 million from his union's accounts over the course of the decade. The election of Print Union leader Raimundo Ongaro as Secretary General in 1968 led to a new schism at the CGT. This was owed as much to the rivalry between Ongaro and other labor leaders, as to the "divide and conquer" strategy pursued by Labor Minister Rubens San Sebastián (who made

6156-740: The time of the 1930 coup, three trade unions existed in Argentina: the Confederación Obrera Argentina (COA, founded in 1926 and linked to the Socialist Party ), the Unión Sindical Argentina (USA, anarcho-syndicalist ) and the FORA V (dissolved by Uriburu). On September 20, 1930, the COA and the USA merged in the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), although the two rival tendencies remained. Meanwhile,

6237-583: The treaty did not establish customs fees over coal, had given special dispensation to British companies with investments in Argentina and had reduced the prices of their exports. So many problems resulted from the treaty that Vice President Roca, after the signing of the treaty, declared, "By its economic importance, Argentina resembles just a large British dominion." Lisandro de la Torre , one of Roca's principal and most vociferous opponents, mocking his words in an editorial, wrote, "In these conditions we wouldn't be able to say that Argentina had been converted into

6318-676: Was also close to the clerical Movimiento de Sacerdotes para el Tercer Mundo , a group of priests close to the Liberation Theology , forming one of the first model of Neoperonism  [ es ] . The CGTA supported the more radical unions' branches (ports, oil, sugar industry , etc.), quickly establishing national scale. It was headed in Cordoba by the leader of the Cordobese trade union Luz y Fuerza  [ es ] , Agustín Tosco . They took an important part in

6399-600: Was during Justo's term that Argentina signed the Roca-Runciman Treaty with the United Kingdom, which assured the UK a provision of fresh meat in exchange for important investments in the field of transportation in Argentina , given certain economic concessions from Argentina, such as giving control over the public transport in Buenos Aires to a British company, the Corporación de Transportes . At

6480-534: Was elected Secretary General of the "official" CGT in October while Moyano continued to lead the now "dissident" CGT in a loose alliance with Barrionuevo and Pablo Micheli of the Dissident CTA. The four-year schism ended in 2016 following a series of austerity measures decreed by newly elected President Mauricio Macri . Representatives of most CGT unions agreed on a framework on July 22 that would reunify

6561-462: Was murdered by Ramón Valdez Cora on the Senate floor, and the province of Santa Fe was intervened . The murder was depicted by Juan José Jusid 's 1984 film, Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación . CHADE ( Companía Hispano Argentina de Electricidad , an offshoot of the Sofina multinational conglomerate) was also at the heart of an important political and financial scandal. The CHADE scandal, symbol of

#731268