BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP)— Planes, trains, trucks and taxis ground to a halt in Argentina on Wednesday in a major one-day strike over President Javier Milei’s austerity policies.

The unions called the protest over Milei’s plans to privatise national flag carrier Aerolineas Argentinas and to denounce spiraling poverty levels since he took office late last year.

Over a million passengers were affected by the industrial action, which saw over 1,800 trains canceled, according to Trenes Argentinos, the state-owned rail operator in Buenos Aires.

Aerolineas Argentinas said that 263 flights had been affected, impacting around 27,700 passengers.

Metro drivers in Buenos Aires and ferry operators also took part in the strike, which saw activists block roads in parts of the country and some public sector workers also walk off the job.

The main bus drivers’ union, which did not participate, said it would go on strike on Thursday.

“A significant section of the population is having a hard time,” Pablo Moyano, a leader of the CGT, Argentina’s main labour federation, told Radio 10.

He said the strike also aimed to defend the “sovereignty” of Argentina’s transport sector and prevent state companies from being sold to foreign investors “for a few bucks.”

Milei, who wielded a chainsaw on the campaign trail last year as a symbol of his plan to slash public spending, has cut energy and transport subsidies and thousands of public sector jobs.

His policies have produced Argentina’s first budget surplus in 15 years but have also been blamed for plunging the country into a deep recession and driving the proportion of Argentines living in poverty up 11 points in six months to 52.9 per cent.

And while inflation has slowed in recent months, it remains stubbornly high.

Yearly inflation stood at 209 per cent in September.