Moments of tension were experienced this Wednesday at noon in downtown Buenos Aires due to
a blockade of picketers
who occupied 9 de Julio Avenue, defied the anti-picket protocol and the Police advanced towards the protesters to free traffic.
There were incidents, eight police officers were injured and ten arrests were made.
Shortly after noon, they lifted the cut.
"We made the decision to free the street. It was a historic operation due to the magnitude of how the force had to be deployed, this has no precedent, but
our decision is firm and unwavering to guarantee that all citizens can circulate,
and also to demonstrate within the framework of the protocols that we defined," said the head of the Buenos Aires Government, Jorge Macri, in a press conference he gave at the Urban Monitoring Center (CMU) of Chacarita together with the Minister of Security, Waldo Wolff, and the Secretary of Security in charge of the City Police, Diego Kravetz.
Around 11 o'clock, the columns of protesters
began to completely block 9 de Julio Avenue
, corner of Moreno, where groups of the Piquetera Unit were installed.
The social organizations first gathered in front of the building where the Ministry of Social Development, current Secretariat of Children, Adolescence and Family, headed by Pablo de la Torre, operates.
Half an hour later,
a large number of troops began to arrive
to activate the anti-picketing protocol established by the Ministry of National Security, headed by Patricia Bullrich, and thus avoid the blockage of the 9 de Julio, in the face of the traffic chaos that was in the area as a result of the presence of the protesters.
Unlike other demonstrations, on this occasion they did occupy the Metrobus lane, which was not operating.
Consequently, the City Police began to advance towards the picketers who were retreating and throwing stones at the uniformed officers. A fire hydrant truck acted in the area, as did two helicopters that monitored from the air.
In the midst of the incidents, the agents began shooting and arrested people who challenged the operation. According to Crónica TV, one of the journalists on his team who worked on the coverage suffered a rubber bullet in the mouth.
Shortly after noon, the City Police had managed to clear the cut
. "Every day that we have to evacuate the City, we are going to do it. It is an order from the Head of Government and a feeling of the entire City of Buenos Aires," declared Wolff.
According to Kravetz, the protesters were in the different squares that cross 9 de Julio and went down to the street in a coordinated manner. "It was from one moment to the next, they came down in coordination, they were not blocking any arteries until that moment," he told TN.
"We spoke with the people who organized and tried to have dialogue, but they did not want to dialogue. When they began to cut, we imperatively requested that they stop with the violation. When they do not respond, we began. We acted, we cleared the avenue and now we can move forward," he noted.
Macri later confirmed that the Buenos Aires force detained ten protesters. Besides. Eight police officers were injured, in addition to two journalists (in addition to the one from Crónica TV, one from the La Nación+ signal was also affected).
All of them suffered
minor injuries.
"Like all operations, they are difficult, but the decision of the City Police is firm and it is a pride to see the work they did in placing the body.
We arrested ten protesters who are at the disposal of Justice.
We are providing images of many protesters, like a woman who became angry and damaged a car when she was leaving. We hope that with the evidence of all those who committed crimes they will have serious consequences," said the head of the Buenos Aires government.
The detainees were brought to justice for damages and assaulting police personnel.
The damage from this demonstration is around 32 million pesos
, due to the damage to public spaces and garbage containers.
Regarding the injured journalists, Macri reported that
everything will be investigated
and that one of them was hit by a stone and the other was hit by a rubber bullet.
"I regret all those injured, the journalists, the protesters and the police. Luckily we do not have to regret any serious injuries, and I regret the complications that we have caused to the people of Buenos Aires," concluded the head of Government.
The protest of the picketers
The "National Day of Struggle", as they defined it, was called by the Popular Economy Workers Union (UTEP) and the Piquetera Unit.
"We will carry out a day of national struggle together with social organizations, to
continue making visible the critical situation that our country is experiencing
, especially the last in the line that make up the sector of the popular economy," said the UTEP, who They summoned themselves to the Ministry of Economy, located in Yrigoyen and Balcarce.
Despite demonstrating in different places, the groups agree in their demands for food assistance for community kitchens, the casualties produced in the Empower Work program and also the massive layoffs in the State.
The protesters did not arrive as they usually do through the mobilization of columns from different points of the City, but rather they did so
through the use of public transportation
to the vicinity of the secretariat in charge of De la Torre and the portfolio that he directed by Luis Caputo.
At the end of February, a so-called "national picket" was carried out, where protesters crossed paths with the Police at the door of the Ministry of Human Capital, when the security forces tried to prevent them from blocking the streets.
That day was also called by UTEP, the Piquetero Unit (UP), the Piquetero Struggle Front, the Front of Organizations in Struggle (FOL), the National Piquetero Block and the Block of Organizations in Struggle, among others.
Shortly after, Minister Bullrich announced changes in Internal Security where, among other things,
she will seek to punish the leaders of picketing organizations with prison terms of 4 to 5 years.
"We propose increased penalties for those who organize demonstrations, blockades of streets, and force people to participate under the promise of threats," the official said at a press conference.
Along these lines, he referred to the reform of article 194 of the Penal Code, to be able to condemn the organizers of street protests and who "force people to participate under the promise of threats."
In that sense, he explained that 150,000 complaints were received to line 134, which are being investigated in federal justice.
In addition, the national official stated that there will be "more specific penalties" for protesters who "attack authority", because - as she said - in each demonstration there are members of the security forces injured.
"This will allow us to not really exploit people or create a situation of dependency, taking away people's freedom, one of the bases of our project, freedom," he exclaimed.
DP