Argentina has descended into chaos with trains disrupted, flights grounded, grain shipments interrupted, deliveries halted and banks closed as unions staged a general strike against Javier Milei's government. The day-long strike came as the country's president is 16 months into a presidency, which has sought to eliminate Argentina’s fiscal deficit through severe austerity measures.

The stoppage was led by the country’s main union confederation, CGT. Its members tried to bring Argentina to a standstill a day after union activists joined a weekly protest of pensioners rallying for increases to their government pensions. Most have been set at some £231 ($300) per month and lost significant ground to inflation. Union members, including train conductors, teachers, customs officials, rubbish collectors and postal workers, walked out at midnight on Wednesday for 24 hours. Airports emptied as the main airlines halted operations.

Many public hospitals were only dealing with emergencies. The government said the stoppage has cost the economy some £678million ($880m).

Néstor Segovia, Assistant Secretary of the subway workers' union, said: "We are joining the strike for fair collective bargaining, solidarity with retirees and the country's poorest and for the crisis that we are experiencing."

The strike appeared to lack widespread support. The bus workers’ union opted out of the transport shutdown due to ongoing wage negotiations, allowing most commuters to take their usual route to work.

Although the taxis’ union supported the stoppage, cabs could be seen in the streets looking for fares. In the trendy neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, cafes and clothing stores bustled as usual.

Argentina’s powerful trade unions have been controlled by the Peronist party, the country’s long dominant political movement which is now in opposition. They remain central to the system which Mr Milei is trying to dismantle.

Mr Milei's spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said: "This strike pursues political interests and has nothing to do with the workers. It's one of the last gasps of those who live off extortion and pressure."

Across the deserted train stations of Buenos Aires, loudspeakers broadcast a government statement criticising the strike as an attack on the republic.

President Milei appeared unfazed. This morning, he shared dozens of social media posts celebrating an announcement that the Trump administration’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent planned to visit Argentina next week.

The US Treasury said Mr Milei has brought Argentina back from economic oblivion, adding Mr Bessent would seek to "encourage the international community to fully support President Milei’s economic reform efforts".

Those efforts have been cheered by Wall Street, US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Mr Milei has slashed subsidies, undone price controls, scrapped government ministries and fired more than 42,000 state workers. The spending cuts hit the population immediately, with a big portion of the government's fiscal savings last year coming from social programs and pensions.

Thursday's general strike urged the government to boost spending on the country's gutted health and education sectors, reinstate fired employees and reopen talks over wage hikes, among other measures.

In a statement, the country's aviation union said: "The only thing the government has brought is a wave of layoffs in state agencies, a rise in poverty rates and international debts that are the biggest scam in the history of Argentina."

The union was pointing to the International Monetary Fund’s £15.4billion ($20bn) bailout package for cash-strapped Argentina announced earlier this week.

The IMF has long been associated in Argentina with the country’s devastating devaluation and sovereign default in 2001-02.

Buenos Aires badly needs the money to meet its debt repayments, lift strict capital controls and regain investors' confidence.