Following a general strike called by the CGT against the labor reform, residents of several Buenos Aires neighborhoods held nighttime pot-banging protests, while Fate factory workers demonstrated against its permanent closure. Incidents at Congress resulted in injuries, and police intervened in highway blockades. The government issued mandatory conciliation in the Fate case, but the company clarified it will not resume operations soon.
On February 19, 2026, Argentina experienced a general strike called by the CGT in rejection of the labor reform debated in the Chamber of Deputies. The day included incidents outside Congress, with 10 injuries treated by SAME, including a 75-year-old woman with a hip fracture. As legislators discussed, Buenos Aires residents mobilized with pot-banging protests starting after 11:00 PM in neighborhoods like La Paternal, Villa Pueyrredón, Mataderos, Caballito, Villa 21-24, and Boedo.
In Boedo, a group of neighbors charged at the City Police trying to prevent a street blockade at San Juan and Boedo, displacing the police cordon while shouting 'Unity of the workers'. Key spots like the intersection of Medrano and Corrientes, and Corrientes and Ángel Gallardo, were blocked. On social media, accounts like 'Arrepentidos de Milei' highlighted the sense of injustice: 'Those on the street have to get up to work for peanuts and at midnight they're watching deputies who earn millions discussing others working 12 hours'.
Outside the capital, pot-banging was reported in Mendoza, linking water rights demands with opposition to the labor reform. Meanwhile, the tire factory Fate announced its permanent closure, dismissing over 900 employees. Unionists and workers blocked the Panamericana highway on the Tigre branch at Uruguay height, but Gendarmería cleared the lanes after less than two hours. Alejandro Crespo, Sutna secretary, stated: 'We want to guarantee the jobs' and 'We demand the plant's operation'.
The government, via Manuel Adorni, labeled the strike 'perverse' and 'extortive', estimating 600 million dollars in losses. The opposition pointed to 300,000 lost jobs and 2,500 million dollars subtracted from retirees. Fate complied with the 15-day mandatory conciliation ordered by the government but clarified there are no inputs or conditions to resume production, as the plant is occupied by employees. President Javier Milei tweeted: 'Will they know the difference between being pro-market and pro-business?', criticizing defenders of 'prebendarios'. The protests reflected tensions between official modernization and factory closures, with vigils at the plant and actions at Congress.
