Social unrest grew on Friday with protests after Argentine President Javier Milei vetoed laws that provided funding for public universities, pediatric hospitals, and regional governments.

Staff from the Garrahan Hospital in Buenos Aires, the country's main hospital for children, marched alongside opposition parties, unions and university students and teachers.

Workers at Garrahan Hospital began a strike early Friday that will last until Sunday, while staff at the University of Buenos Aires, the country's most important public university, also went on strike.

Milei made the decision despite his recent call for dialogue with both allied and opposing governors, an attempt to regain political momentum after his party's performance in the legislative election in Buenos Aires last Sunday.

The Buenos Aires election caused a shock in financial markets, with aftershocks still felt on Friday.

This was due to fears that the electoral prospects of Argentina’s Peronist opposition could grow ahead of the October 26 national congressional elections, which led Milei to ratify his economic adjustment program that has succeeded in slowing inflation.

On the last day of the week, the value of the dollar—where Argentines take refuge in times of turbulence—climbed an average of 1.7% to 1,465 pesos per unit, nearing the ceiling of the exchange rate band imposed by the government when it partially lifted currency transaction restrictions in April.

If the upward trend persists, it could affect prices with increases in goods and services and accelerate inflation.

Argentine bonds and stocks on Wall Street fell an average of 6%, while the Merval index, where the main local companies are listed, dropped by more than 3%.

Despite the presidential vetoes, Congress can insist on them, just as it did in August with a law that increased benefits for people with disabilities, which Milei had rejected arguing it would unbalance public accounts.

To this end, opposition blocs in the Chamber of Deputies have called for a session next Wednesday.

The vetoes have increased discontent against the president, whose image has been progressively deteriorating.

AP Video by Victor R. Caivano