Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, to oppose labor reforms that would restrict the right to strike and cut employment benefits.

Wednesday’s demonstrations came as the country’s Senate debated legislation championed by liberal President Javier Milei.

These reforms were seen as an attempt to curb the power of organized labor. At the same time, Mr. Millay believes reforms are crucial to realizing his vision of a free-market economy free from burdensome regulations.

But unions marched en masse on Wednesday against the proposed bill.

The resulting demonstrations led to clashes with police in downtown Buenos Aires. Security forces deployed water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas, while some protesters threw Molotov cocktails, rocks and water bottles.

In a statement, the General Confederation of Labor, the trade union federation that helped organize the demonstrations, denounced the reforms as an attack on workers’ rights.

Among other things, the reforms will make it easier for companies to lay off employees and reduce severance pay. They will also limit the ability of unions to engage in collective bargaining.

“This is not modernization. This is austerity for workers,” the federation said.

But Mr. Mire’s government argued the changes were necessary to attract investment.

Senator Patricia Bullrich, a former security minister in the Milley government, called Argentina’s labor and job market an “unbalanced” system that was suffering from “extreme judicialization.”

Milai is a dark horse in Argentina’s 2023 presidential election. But faced with rising inflation and a stagnant economy, he prevailed over the ruling left-wing Peronist movement.

He often campaigned with a chainsaw, symbolizing his desire to cut government spending and eliminate regulations. His presidency has seen a sharp shift toward austerity measures that critics accuse of exacerbating poverty among Argentina’s lowest-income classes.