Workers Start a General Strike in Uruguay

On Wednesday, Uruguay's Inter-Union Plenary of Workers - National Convention of Workers (PIT-CNT) called for a general strike against President Luis Lacalle and in defense of "land, health, and decent housing."

RELATED: 

Argentina: China-Uruguay FTA Is Not Compatible With Mercosur

"It will be one of the most important mobilizations in the last ten years," assured the Secretary-General of the PIT-CNT, Marcelo Abdala.

The demands of the general strike include the defense of public education, the claim for housing and food plans, and the repudiation of cuts to the budget of the National Colonization Institute (INC), which is responsible for the distribution of land to small farmers all over the country.

Construction, public workers, industrial, fishing, metal, and education unions will join the strike, along with health and transportation workers.

It is expected that 130 buses will arrive in Montevideo from the country's interior and join metropolitan unions. They will gather in front of the Legislative Parliament for a tour along Libertadores Avenue.

The trade union centrals invited retirees, unemployed workers, small and medium-size merchants, rural producers, the "soup kitchens" network, students, teachers, and professors to participate in the mobilization.

"The PIT-CNT and the entire popular camp are trying to raise their level of initiative and mobilization. The radical adjustment policy being appplied by the government against the population's rights and income will bring more ptotests," stated Abdala.